Vedas Today

Importance of the Vedas in today’s world

  • Good deeds give good fruit and bad deeds, bad
  • Definition of good and bad
  • Not everything is visible to the eye
  • Veda is the only source of extra-worldly knowledge
  • This imperishable wealth cannot perish, but it can go into hiding
  • Conclusion

Good deeds give good fruit and bad deeds, bad:
The desire to be happy and never be touched by sorrow is universal. We only need to apply the Third Law of Mechanics in general to understand that even in life “for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction”. If we do good deeds, everything goes smooth and we can be happy. If we do bad deeds, the natural balance is disturbed and the seed of sorrow is sown. Sometimes this cause-effect relation may be delayed or hindered by other factors, but it is never invalid.

Definition of good and bad:
What is good and bad? Giving food to a hungry person is good. Watching them suffer without doing anything is bad. This is generally accepted. The goodness and badness of these deeds is based on visible factors like the satisfaction of the hungry person upon eating food etc. But there are also many other kinds of good and bad deeds. Those whose goodness and badness is not visible.

Not everything is visible to the eye:
Anyone reading this page has seen the atom? Has seen the electron? But you do believe that atoms and electrons exist, don’t you? Of course you do. You would be called a fool if you did not believe in them. That is because even if you have not seen them, scientists have detected them using powerful instruments.

It is in the same way that the rishis, who were scientists dealing with alaukika (beyond this world) matters, determined that such and such activities are “good”, meaning they contribute to the stability of the world, and such and such activities are “bad”, meaning they destroy the stability of the world.

Though we are unable to see or understand in physical terms how these things are “good” or “bad”, would it not be the only right thing to do to accept that they are true? Just like we believe in the atom because a scientist has done some research and proven (to other scientists) that it is true, even if we have not seen the atom ourselves, we must believe that the atom exists. Similarly we must believe that such invisible punya and paapa exists in actions which are not physically recognizable as good or bad.

Veda is the only source of extra-worldly knowledge
So from where can we know what is punya and what is paapa? From the Veda. The Veda is not written by anyone. It is called the “breath of God”. In modern science, they say that at the Big Bang, the vibrations created have today manifested as the universe. String theory, a latest theory in such matters, says that everything happening in this world is the result of so-called “strings” vibrating.
Thus it is clear that vibration is the cause of the world. And sounds are nothing but vibration. Whether you call them vibrations or God’s breath, it is what created the world. As such it is the mother of the world. And it is the mother who knows what is good for her child.

The Veda Mata tells us what is good and what is bad. She gives us ways of gaining punya and removing paapa, so that we can reduce the sorrow we must face in this human life. As such, each syllable of the Veda is a priceless gem. The Veda is hence the real wealth — that is what is stated by the line on the homepage of this website – “saa hi shriir amritaa sataam”. For the wise – she, the Veda Mata is Shri, Lakshmi, wealth.

Even in today’s world, where paper notes and paper cheques are the measure of wealth, it is only the Vedic wealth that can ensure that we have enough punya and less paapa so that we can get these paper notes and paper cheques. So it is obvious that the Vedic wealth is the greater wealth, since it can give this lesser wealth also. But this lesser wealth cannot give us anything permanent. It does not come guaranteed for 100% satisfaction, but the Vedic wealth is not like that. That is why the word “amritaa” in the quotation above — “imperishable”.

This imperishable wealth cannot perish, but it can go into hiding
Though the Vedic wealth can never totally get destroyed, if we human beings do not pay attention to its studying and propagation, it will certainly disappear — go into hiding. And we will be the losers. So every human being has a duty to protect the Veda.

The Veda tells us that Brahmana-s have the duty of spending their life time protecting the Veda. But in fact, every human being has a duty to protect the Veda. Just like every one must protect their motherland. But everyone protects the Veda in a different way. Even protecting him who protects the Veda is protection of the Veda indirectly.

Everyone has their different contribution. The doctor cannot go and fight at the border. The soldier cannot perform bypass surgery. As such, someone may not themselves be capable of studying the Veda. In such case, even if they protect the students and teachers who are spending their full time for the propagation of the Vedas, they will have does their bit, just like the little squirrel did its bit when great Vanara-s like Hanuman were busy building the Rama Setu.

Conclusion:
So whoever we are, wherever we are, it is important that we by body, mind and speech give our contribution to the great cause of protecting the Vedas.
sarve bhavantu sukhinah’ / sarve santu niraamayaah’ / sarve bhadraan’i pashyantu / maa kashcid duh’khabhaag bhavet //

“May everyone be happy. May everyone be rid of troubles. May everyone experience all good things. May no one ever suffer from sorrow.”

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