{"id":1897,"date":"2013-07-13T01:38:09","date_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:38:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/?p=1897"},"modified":"2013-07-13T01:38:09","modified_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:38:09","slug":"07-chapter-vii-varuna-mitra-and-the-truth-vol-15-the-secret-of-veda","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/01-works-of-sri-aurobindo\/03-cwsa\/15-the-secret-of-veda\/07-chapter-vii-varuna-mitra-and-the-truth-vol-15-the-secret-of-veda","title":{"rendered":"-07_Chapter VII Varuna-Mitra and the Truth.htm"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\n\n
\n

\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\tChapter
\nVII <\/font><\/b>
\n\t\t\t<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\tVaruna-Mitra and the Truth<\/font><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\tI<\/font>F THE<\/b> idea of the Truth that we have found in the very
\nopening hymn of the Veda really carries in itself the contents we have supposed and amounts to the conception of a
\nsupramental consciousness which is the condition of the state of immortality or beatitude and if this be the leading conception of
\nthe Vedic Rishis, we are bound to find it recurring throughout the hymns as a centre for other and dependent psychological realisations. In the very next Sukta, the second hymn of Madhuchchhandas addressed to Indra and Vayu, we find another pas
\nsage full of cear and this time quite invincible psychological suggestions in which the idea of the Ritam is insisted upon with
\nan even greater force than in the hymn to Agni. The passage comprises the last three Riks of the Sukta. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\tMitram huve pūtadaksām, varunam ca riśādasam;<\/i> <\/p>\n

\t\t\t <\/span><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\tdhiyam ghrtācīm sādhantā.<\/i>
\n  
\n\t\t\t<\/span> <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\tRtena mitrāvarunāv, rtāvrdhāv rtasprśā;<\/i> <\/p>\n

\t\t\t <\/span><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\tkratum brhantam āśāthe.<\/i>
\n\t\t\t 
\n  <\/i>
\n\t\t\t<\/span> <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\tKavī<\/font> no mitrāvarunā,
\n\t\t\ttuvijātā uruksayā;<\/i>
\n. <\/i>
\n\t\t\t <\/span><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\tdaksam dadhāte apasam.<\/i>
\n\t\t\t<\/span> <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tIn the first Rik of this passage we have the word
\ndaksa<\/i>
\n usually explained by Sayana as strength, but capable of a psycho
\nlogical significance, the important word ghrta <\/i>in the adjectival
\n\t\t\tform ghrtācī <\/i>and the remarkable phrase dhiyam
\n\t\t\tghrtācīm<\/i>. The
\nverse may be translated literally “I invoke Mitra of purified strength (or, purified discernment) and Varuna destroyer of our
\nfoes perfecting (or accomplishing) a bright understanding.”
\n\t\t\t<\/span> <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tIn the second Rik we have Ritam thrice repeated and the
\nwords brhat <\/i>and kratu<\/i>, to both of which we have attached a considerable importance in the psychological interpretation of the Veda. Kratu
\n<\/i>here may mean either work of sacrifice or effective
\n  
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tPage – 70<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\t\t\t<\/font>
\n\t\t\t<\/span><\/p>\n

\npower. In favour of the former sense we have a similar passage in the Veda in which Varuna and Mitra are said to attain to or
\nenjoy by the Truth a mighty sacrifice, yaj\u00f1am brhantam āśāthe<\/i>. But this parallel is not conclusive; for while in one expression
\nit is the sacrifice itself that is spoken of, in the other it may be the power or strength which effects the sacrifice. The verse
\nmay be translated, literally, “By Truth Mitra and Varuna, truth-increasing, truth-touching, enjoy (or, attain) a mighty work” or
\n“a vast (effective) power.”
\n\t\t\t<\/span> <\/p>\n

\nFinally in the third Rik we have again daksa<\/i>; we have the
\n word kavi<\/i>, seer, already associated by Madhuchchhandas with
\nkratu<\/i>, work or will; we have the idea of the Truth, and we have the expression
\nuruksayā<\/i>, where uru<\/i>, wide or vast, may be
\n an equivalent for brhat<\/i>, the vast, which is used to describe the
\n world or plane of the truth-consciousness, the “own home” of
\nAgni. I translate the verse, literally, “For us Mitra and Varuna, seers, multiply-born, wide-housed, uphold the strength (or, discernment) that does the work.”
\n\t\t\t<\/span> <\/p>\n

\nIt will at once be evident that we have in this passage of
\nthe second hymn precisely the same order of ideas and many of the same expressions as those on which we founded our
\nselves in the first Sukta. But the application is different and the conceptions of the purified discernment, the richly-bright
\n˙<\/i> understanding, dhiyam ghrtācīm<\/i>, and the action of the Truth in the work of the sacrifice,
\napas<\/i>, introduce certain fresh precisions
\nwhich throw further light on the central ideas of the Rishis.
\n\t\t\t<\/span> <\/p>\n

\nThe word daksa<\/i>, which alone in this passage admits of some
\n real doubt as to its sense, is usually rendered by Sayana strength.
\n It comes from a root which, like most of its congeners, e.g. daś<\/i>,
\n diś<\/i>, dah<\/i>, suggested originally as one of its characteristic significances an aggressive pressure and hence any form of injury, but especially dividing, cutting, crushing or sometimes burning.
\nMany of the words for strength had originally this idea of a force for injury, the aggressive strength of the fighter and slayer,
\nthe kind of force most highly prized by primitive man making a place for himself by violence on the earth he had come to
\ninherit. We see this connection in the ordinary Sanskrit word for  <\/span><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tPage – 71<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\t\t\t<\/font>
\n\t\t\t<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

strength,
\n\t\t\t<\/span>balam,<\/i> which is of the same family as the Greek
\nballo,<\/i> I strike, and belos,<\/i> a weapon. The sense, strength, for
\ndakṣ<\/span>a<\/i> has the same origin. <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tBut this idea of division led up also in the psychology of
\n\t\t\tlanguage-development to quite another order of ideas; for when man
\n\t\t\twished to have words for mental conceptions, his readiest method was
\n\t\t\tto apply the figures of physical action to the mental movement. The
\n\t\t\tidea of physical division or separation was thus used and converted
\n\t\t\tinto that of distinction. It seems to have been first applied to
\n\t\t\tdistinguishing by the ocular sense and then to the act of mental
\n\t\t\tseparation, — discernment, judgment. Thus the root vid,<\/i> which
\n\t\t\tmeans in Sanskrit to find or know, signifies in Greek and Latin to
\n\t\t\tsee. Dṛś<\/span>,<\/i> to see, meant originally to
\n\t\t\trend, tear apart, separate; pas,<\/i> to see, has a similar
\n\t\t\torigin. We have three almost identical roots which are very
\n\t\t\tinstructive in this respect, —pis,<\/i> to hurt, injure, be
\n\t\t\tstrong; pis,<\/i> to hurt, injure, be strong, crush, pound; and
\n\t\t\tpiś,<\/i> to form, shape, organise, be reduced to the constituent
\n\t\t\tparts, — all these senses betraying the original idea of separation,
\n\t\t\tdivision, cutting apart, — with derivatives, piśāca,<\/i> a devil,
\n\t\t\tand piśuna,<\/i> which means on one side harsh, cruel, wicked,
\n\t\t\ttreacherous, slanderous, all from the idea of injury, and at the
\n\t\t\tsame time "indicatory, manifesting, displaying, making clear" from
\n\t\t\tthe other sense of distinction. So kri<\/i> to injure, divide,
\n\t\t\tscatter appears in Greek krino,<\/i> I sift, choose, judge,
\n\t\t\tdetermine. Dakṣ<\/span>a<\/i> has a similar
\n\t\t\thistory. It is kin to the root daś<\/i> which in Latin gives us
\n\t\t\tdoceo,<\/i> I teach, and in Greek dokeo,<\/i> I think, judge,
\n\t\t\treckon, and dokazo,<\/i> I observe, am of opinion. So also we have
\n\t\t\tthe kindred root diś<\/i> meaning to point out or teach, Greek
\n\t\t\tdeiknumi.<\/i> Almost identical with dakṣ<\/span>a
\n\t\t\t<\/i>itself is the Greek doxa,<\/i> opinion, judgment, and
\n\t\t\tdexios,<\/i> clever, dexterous, right-hand. In Sanskrit the root
\n\t\t\tdakṣ<\/span><\/i> means to hurt, kill and also to be
\n\t\t\tcompetent, able, the adjective dakṣ<\/span>a<\/i>
\n\t\t\tmeans clever, skilful, competent, fit, careful, attentive; dakṣ<\/span>iṇ<\/span>a<\/i>
\n\t\t\tmeans clever, skilful, right-hand, like dexios,<\/i> and the noun
\n\t\t\tdakṣ<\/span>a<\/i> means, besides strength and
\n\t\t\talso wickedness from the sense of hurting, mental ability or fitness
\n\t\t\tlike other words of the family. We may compare also the word daśā<\/i>
\n\t\t\tin the sense of <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tPage – 72<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\t\t\t<\/font>
\n\t\t\t<\/span><\/p>\n

\nmind, understanding. All this evidence taken together seems to indicate clearly
\nenough that
\ndaksa <\/i>must have meant at one time
\n discernment, judgment, discriminative thought-power and that
\nits sense of mental capacity is derived from this sense of mental division and not by transference of the idea of physical strength
\nto power of mind.
\n\t\t\t<\/span> <\/p>\n

\n We have therefore three possible senses for daksa <\/i>in the
\n Veda, strength generally, mental power or especially the power
\nof judgment, discernment. Daksa <\/i>is continually associated with
\n kratu<\/i>; the Rishis aspire to them together, daksaya kratve<\/i>, which
\nmay mean simply, “capacity and effective power” or “will and discernment”. Continually we find the word occurring in
\npassages where the whole context relates to mental activities. Finally, we have the goddess Dakshina who may well be a
\nfemale form of Daksha, himself a god and afterwards in the Purana one of the Prajapatis, the original progenitors,
\n\t\t\t—we
\nhave Dakshina associated with the manifestation of knowledge and sometimes almost identified with Usha, the divine Dawn,
\nwho is the bringer of illumination. I shall suggest that Dakshina like the more famous Ila, Saraswati and Sarama, is one of four
\ngoddesses representing the four faculties of the Ritam or Truthconsciousness, —Ila representing truth-vision or revelation,
\nSaraswati truth-audition, inspiration, the divine word, Sarama intuition, Dakshina the separative intuitional discrimination. Daksha then will mean this discrimination whether as mental judgment on the mind-plane or as intuitional discernment on
\nthe plane of the Ritam.
\n\t\t\t<\/span> <\/p>\n

\n The three riks with which we are dealing occur as the closing
\npassage of a hymn of which the first three verses are addressed to Vayu alone and the next three to Indra and Vayu. Indra in
\nthe psychological interpretation of the hymns represents, as we shall see, Mind-Power. The word for the sense-faculties,
\nindriya<\/i>,
\nis derived from his name. His special realm is Swar, a word
\n  which means sun or luminous, being akin to sura <\/i>and surya<\/i>, the
\n .<\/i> sun, and is used to indicate the third of the Vedic vyahrtis
\n<\/i>and
\nthe third of the Vedic worlds corresponding to the principle of the pure or unobscured Mind. Surya represents the illumination
\n   <\/span> <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tPage – 73<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\t\t\t<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\tof the
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tṛtam<\/i>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\trising upon the mind; Swar is that plane of mental
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tconsciousness which directly receives the illumination.
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tVayu on the other hand is always associated with the Prana or Life-Energy which
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tcontributes to the system all the ensemble of those
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tnervous activities that in man are the support of the
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tmental energies governed by Indra. Their combination
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tconstitutes the normal mentality of man. These two gods
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tare invited in the hymn to come and partake together of
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tthe Soma- wine. This wine of Soma represents, as we have
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tabundant proof in the Veda and especially in the ninth
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tbook, a collection of more than a hundred hymns
\n\t\t\t\t\t\taddressed to the deity Soma, the intoxication of the
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tAnanda, the divine delight of being, inflowing upon the
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tmind from the supramental consciousness through the
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tṛtam<\/i>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tor Truth. If we accept these interpretations we can
\n\t\t\t\t\t\teasily translate the hymn into its psychological
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tsignificance. <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\tIndra and Vayu awaken in
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tconsciousness (cetathaḥ)<\/i>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tto the flowings of the Soma-wine; that is to say, the
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tmind-power and life-power working together in human
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tmentality are to awaken to the inflowings of this
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tAnanda, this Amrita, this delight and immortality from
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tabove. They receive them into the full plenitude of the
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tmental and nervous energies,
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tcetathaḥ sutānām vājinīvasū.<\/i>\u00b9
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tThe Ananda thus received constitutes a new action
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tpreparing immortal consciousness in the mortal and Indra
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tand Vayu are bidden to come and swiftly perfect these
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tnew workings by the participation of the thought,
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tā yātam upa niṣkṛtam makṣu dhiyā.<\/i>\u00b2 For dhī<\/i>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tis the thought-power, intellect or understanding. It is
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tintermediate between the normal mentality re- presented
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tby the combination of Indra and Vayu and the
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tṛtam <\/i>or Truth-Consciousness. <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\tIt is at this point that Varuna and
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tMitra intervene and our passage begins. Without the
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tpsychological clue the connection between the first part
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tof the hymn and the close is not very clear, nor the
\n\t\t\t\t\t\trelation between the couple Varuna-Mitra and the couple
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tIndra-Vayu. With that clue both connections become
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tobvious; <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\u00b9<\/font>.V. 5.     
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\u00b2<\/font>.V. 6.<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\tPage – 74<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\tindeed they depend upon each other.
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tFor the earlier part of the hymn has for its subject the
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tpreparation first of the vital forces represented by
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tVayu who is alone invoked in the three opening Riks,
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tthen of the mentality represented by the couple
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tIndra-Vayu for the activities of the Truth-Consciousness
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tin the human being; the close has for its subject the
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tworking of the Truth on the mentality so as to perfect the
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tintellect and to enlarge the actions. Varuna and Mitra
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tare two of the four gods who represent this working of
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tthe Truth in the human mind and temperament. <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tIn the style of the Veda when there
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tis a transition of this kind from one movement of
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tthought to another developing out of it, the link of
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tconnection is often indicated by the repetition in the
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tnew movement of an important word which has already
\n\t\t\t\t\t\toccurred in the close of the movement that precedes.
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tThis principle of suggestion by echo, as one may term
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tit, pervades the hymns and is a mannerism common to all
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tthe Rishis. The connecting word here is dhī,<\/i>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tthought or intellect. Dhī<\/i> differs from the more
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tgeneral word, mati,<\/i> which means mentality or
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tmental action generally and which indicates sometimes
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tthought, sometimes feeling, sometimes the whole mental
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tstate. Dhī<\/i> is the thought- mind or intellect; as
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tunderstanding it holds all that comes to it, defines
\n\t\t\t\t\t\teverything and puts it into the right place,\u00b9or often
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tdhī<\/i> indicates the activity of the intellect,
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tparticular thought or thoughts. It is by the thought
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tthat Indra and Vayu have been called upon to perfect the
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tnervous mentality, niṣkṛtam…dhiyā. <\/i>But
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tthis instrument, thought, has itself to be perfected,
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tenriched, clarified before the mind can become capable
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tof free communication with the Truth-Consciousness.
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tTherefore Varuna and Mitra, Powers of the Truth, are
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tinvoked "accomplishing a richly luminous thought",
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tdhiyam ghṛtācīm sādhantā.<\/i> \n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\tThis is the first occurrence in the
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tVeda of the word ghṛta, <\/i>in a modified adjectival
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tform, and it is significant that it should occur as an
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tepithet of the Vedic word for the intellect, dhī <\/i>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tIn <\/i>other passages also we find it continually in
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tconnection with the words manas, manīṣa<\/i> or in a
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tcontext where some activity of thought is <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\u00b9The root dhī <\/i>means to hold or
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tto place.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\tPage – 75<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\tindicated. The root ghṛ<\/i>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tconveys the idea of a strong brightness or heat such as
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tthat of fire or the summer sun. It means also to
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tsprinkle or anoint, Greek chrio.<\/i> It is capable of
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tbeing used to signify any liquid, but especially a
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tbright, thick liquid. It is the ambiguity of these two
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tpossible senses of which the Vedic Rishis took advantage
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tto indicate by the word outwardly the clarified butter
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tin the sacrifice, inwardly a rich and bright state or activity of the
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tbrain-power, medhā,<\/i> as basis and substance of
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tilluminated thought. By dhiyam ghṛtācīm<\/i> is meant,
\n\t\t\t\t\t\ttherefore, the intellect full of a rich and bright
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tmental activity. <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\tVaruna and Mitra who accomplish or
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tperfect this state of the intellect, are distinguished
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tby two several epithets. Mitra is
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tpūtadakṣa,<\/i>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tpossessed of a purified judgment; Varuna is riśādas,
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/i>he destroys all hurters or enemies. In the Veda
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tthere are no merely ornamental epithets. Every word is
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tmeant to tell, to add some- thing to the sense and bear
\n\t\t\t\t\t\ta strict relation to the thought of the sentence in
\n\t\t\t\t\t\twhich it occurs. There are two obstacles which pre- vent
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tthe intellect from being a perfect and luminous mirror
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tof the Truth-Consciousness; first, impurity of the
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tdiscernment or discriminative faculty which leads to
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tconfusion of the Truth, secondly the many causes or
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tinfluences which interfere with the growth of the Truth
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tby limiting its full application or by breaking up the
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tconnections and harmony of the thoughts that express it
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tand which thus bring about poverty and falsification of
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tits con- tents. Just as the Gods in the Veda represent
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tuniversal powers descended from the Truth-Consciousness
\n\t\t\t\t\t\twhich build up the harmony of the worlds and in man his
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tprogressive perfection, so the influences that work
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tagainst these objects are represented by hostile
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tagencies, Dasyus and Vritras, who seek to break up, to
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tlimit, to withhold and deny. Varuna in the Veda is
\n\t\t\t\t\t\talways characterised as a power of wideness and purity;
\n\t\t\t\t\t\twhen, there- fore, he is present in man as a conscious
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tforce of the Truth, all that limits and hurts the nature
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tby introducing into it fault, sin and evil is destroyed
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tby contact with him. He is riśādas,<\/i> destroyer of
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tthe enemy, of all that seek to injure the growth. Mitra,
\n\t\t\t\t\t\ta power like Varuna of the Light and Truth, especially
\n\t\t\t\t\t\trepresents Love, Joy and Harmony, the foundations of
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tMayas,<\/i> the Vedic beatitude. <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\tPage – 76<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\tWorking with the purity of Varuna and imparting that
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tpurity to the discernment, he enables it to get rid of
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tall discords and confusions and establish the right
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tworking of the strong and luminous intellect. <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThis progress enables the
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tTruth-Consciousness, the ṛtam, <\/i>to work in the
\n\t\t\t\t\t\thuman mentality. With the ṛtam<\/i> as the agency,
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tṛtena,<\/i>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tincreasing the action of the Truth in man,
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tṛtāvṛdhā,<\/i>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\ttouching or reaching the Truth, enabling, that
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tis to say, the mental consciousness to come into
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tsuccessful contact with and possession of the
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tTruth-Consciousness, ṛtaspṛśā,<\/i> Mitra and
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tVaruna are able to enjoy the use of a vast effective
\n\t\t\t\t\t\twill-power, kratum
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tbṛhantam āśāthe.<\/i> For it
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tis the Will that is the chief effective agent of the
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tinner sacrifice, but a Will that is in harmony with the
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tTruth, guided therefore by a purified discernment. The
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tWill as it enters more and more into the wideness of the
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tTruth-Consciousness becomes itself wide and vast, free
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tfrom limitation in its view and of hampering impediments
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tin its effectivity. It works urau anibdāhe,<\/i> in
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tthe wideness where there is no obstacle or wall of
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tlimitation. <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\tThus the two requisites on which the
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tVedic Rishis always insist are secured, Light and Power,
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tthe Light of the Truth working in the knowledge,
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tdhiyam ghṛtācīm,<\/i>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tthe Power of the Truth working in the effective and
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tenlightened Will, kratum
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tbṛhantam. <\/i>As a result
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tVaruna and Mitra are shown to us in the closing verse of
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tthe hymn working in the full sense of their Truth,
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tkavi tuvijātā urukṣayā.
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tKavi,<\/i> we have seen, means
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tpossessed of the Truth- Consciousness and using its
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tfaculties of vision, inspiration, in- tuition,
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tdiscrimination. Tuvijātā<\/i> is "multiply born", for
\n\t\t\t\t\t\ttuvi, <\/i>meaning originally strength or force, is
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tused like the French word "force" in the sense of many.
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tBut by the birth of the gods is meant always in the Veda
\n\t\t\t\t\t\ttheir manifestation; thus tuvijātā <\/i>signifies
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t"manifested multiply", in many forms and activities.
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tUruguayan<\/i> means dwelling in the wideness, an idea
\n\t\t\t\t\t\twhich occurs frequently in the hymns; uru<\/i> is
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tequivalent to bṛhat,<\/i>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tthe Vast, and indicates the infinite freedom of the
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tTruth-Consciousness. Thus we have as the result of
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tincreasing activities of the
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tṛtam <\/i>the manifestation in the human being of the Powers of
\n\t\t\t\t\t\twideness <\/p>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPage – 77<\/font><\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\tand purity, of joy and harmony, a manifestation rich in
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tforms, seated in the wideness of the
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tṛtam<\/i>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tand using the faculties of the supramental
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tconsciousness. <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\tThis manifestation of the Powers of
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tthe Truth upholds or confirms the discernment while it
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tdoes the work, dakṣam
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tdadhāte apasam.<\/i> The
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tdiscernment, now purified and supported, works in the
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tsense of the Truth as a power of the Truth and
\n\t\t\t\t\t\taccomplishes the perfection of the activities of Indra
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tand Vayu by freeing the thoughts and the will
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tfrom all defect and confusion in their working and
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tresults. <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\tTo confirm the interpretation we have
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tput on the terms of this passage we may quote a Rik from
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tthe tenth Sukta of the fourth Mandala. <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\tAdhā hyagne krator bhadrasya
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tdakṣasya sādhoh, <\/i><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\trathīr ṛtasya bṛhato babhūtha.<\/i> <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t"Then indeed, O   Agni, thou becomest
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tthe charioteer of the happy will, the perfecting
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tdiscernment, the Truth that is the Vast." We have here
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tthe same idea as in the first hymn of the first Mandala,
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tthe effective will that is the nature of the Truth-
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tConsciousness, vikratuḥ,<\/i>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tand works out therefore in a state of beatitude the
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tgood, bhadram.<\/i> We have in the phrase
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tdakṣasya sādhoḥ<\/i>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tat once a variant and explanation of the last phrase of
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tthe second hymn, dakṣam
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tapasam,<\/i> the discernment
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tperfecting and accomplishing the inner work in man. We
\n\t\t\t\t\t\thave the vast Truth as the consummation of these two
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tactivities of power and knowledge, Will and Discernment,
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tkratu<\/i> and dakṣa.<\/i>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tAlways the hymns of the Veda confirm each other by this
\n\t\t\t\t\t\treproduction of the same terms and ideas and the same
\n\t\t\t\t\t\trelation of ideas. This would not be possible unless
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tthey were based on a coherent doctrine with a precise
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tsignificance for standing terms such as
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tkavi, kratu, dakṣa, bhadram, ṛtam,<\/i>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tetc. The internal evidence of the Riks themselves
\n\t\t\t\t\t\testablishes that this significance is psychological, as
\n\t\t\t\t\t\totherwise the terms lose their fixed value, their
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tprecise sense, necessary connection, and their constant
\n\t\t\t\t\t\trecurrence in relation to each other has to be regarded
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tas fortuitous and void of reason or purpose. <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\tPage – 78<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\tWe see then that in the second hymn
\n\t\t\t\t\t\twe find again the same governing ideas as in the first.
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tAll is based on the central Vedic conception of the
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tSupramental or Truth-Consciousness towards which the
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tprogressively perfected mentality of the human being
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tlabours as towards a consummation and a goal. In the
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tfirst hymn this is merely stated as the aim of the
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tsacrifice and the characteristic work of Agni. The
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tsecond hymn indicates the preliminary work of
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tpreparation, by Indra and Vayu, by Mitra and Varuna,
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tof the ordinary mentality of man
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tthrough the force of the Ananda and the increasing
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tgrowth of the Truth. <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\tWe shall find that the whole of the
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tRig-veda is practically a constant variation on this
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tdouble theme, the preparation of the human being in mind
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tand body and the fulfilment of the god-head or
\n\t\t\t\t\t\timmortality in him by his attainment and development of
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tthe Truth and the Beatitude. <\/div>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tPage – 79<\/font><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Chapter VII   Varuna-Mitra and the Truth   IF THE idea of the Truth that we have found in the very opening hymn of the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1897","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-15-the-secret-of-veda","wpcat-41-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1897","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1897"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1897\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1897"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1897"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1897"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}