Book review | Central teaching of Vedanta: Man is essentially divine

Vedas are eternal, that is, they have no beginning and no end. They were never written or created. They were revealed to the seers and sages called mantra drashtas — the seers of the pre-existing thoughts. The seers are not the authors of Vedas. They just put the mantras down as revealed to them — yathapoorvam akalpayaat. The Vedas, therefore, do not owe their authority to any person or being, but to themselves.

Vedanta is a generic term. It refers to the gist of the Vedas as interpreted by the commentators. The central teaching of Vedanta is that man is essentially divine. Sat, chit, and Ananda — truth or existence, consciousness, and bliss, comprise his true nature. Its pivotal aphorism is ahm brahmasmi; tat tvam asi — I am brahman; Thou art that, which implies the essential oneness of all. There is no ‘other.’ The apparent manifest plurality is the outcome of the maya — illusion.

According to Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (Indian Philosophy, Vol II), “The Vedanta philosophy deserves closer attention not only on account of its philosophical value but also because it is closely bound up with the religion of India and is much more alive in that continent than any other system of thought. In one or the other of its forms, the Vedanta determines the world view of the Hindu thinkers of the present time.”

Dhruv S Kaji is a passionate follower of the age-old Vedanta school of Indian philosophy. According to his confession, he “happens to be steeped into it”. He has learned the extraordinary insights of the Vedanta school “from several traditional masters over a period of time”.

Vedanta Vignettes contains a selection from the notes, articles, and discussion papers written by him over a period. They are like snapshots dealing with some of the issues discussed in the Vedantic scriptures. They reflect his understanding of the teachings of the scriptures and the explanations given by the likes of Adi Shankaracharya and Swami Dayananda Saraswati.

After explaining the need for a learned and experienced guru ‘who has understood the limitation of ordinary goals’ in pursuing para vidya (spiritual knowledge), the author addresses the central question namely, ‘Who am I?’ He argues that the mind-body complex is not the reality of ‘I’ or the self. Unchanging and limitless consciousness is our ultimate reality. The Vedanta calls it atman. It is ekam advitiyam — single, non-dual. Like the atman, brahman is satyam, jnanam, and anantam — changeless, conscious, and boundless.

Though Kaji rightly says that atman is brahman, the two are identical, yet he erroneously upholds that brahman is “the world which we individuals confront” and that “brahman is the common reality behind the ‘Not I’ (the entire world perceived by an individual.” It must be made clear that Vedantic schools, especially Advaita Vedanta, do not make this mistake at all.

By distinguishing between three kinds of existence or reality — Pratibhasik Satta (subjective reality); Vyavaharika satta (Objective reality); and Paramarthika satta (Absolute reality) — the Vedanta explains to us why the world of objects, the perceived reality is only relatively non-existent when contrasted with absolute reality. Radhakrishnan put it more aptly thus: “The world has no existence in the absolute sense of the word. It has no existence in the sense of ‘unchangeable’, ‘immovable’, ‘infinite’, and ‘uncaused’.”

Kaji successfully argues that confusion between the three levels of existence, and ‘imposing satyam on mithya’ leads one to ignore morality and ‘do anything in the name of the world not being real.’ He warns us that “Vedanta used improperly can be more dangerous than no Vedanta at all.”

After discussing, in more than two-thirds of the book, various key concepts of ontology, soteriology, and epistemology of Vedanta from the Advaitic (non-dualistic) viewpoint, Kaji briefly touches upon a discussion of them from other traditional viewpoints viz. Vishishtadvaita (qualified non-dualism), Dvaita (dualism), Bhedabheda (difference and non-difference), Shuddhadvaita (pure non-dualism). A discussion on the recent developments in Vedantic studies as that of neo-Vedanta made popular by Swami Vivekananda, and the new developments brought out by the sampradayas like Swaminarayan sampradaya, is conspicuous by its absence. A few vignettes on these would have enriched it and presented a comprehensive view of Vedanta.

One cannot but agree with Kaji when he asserts that “Advaita is not an intellectual exercise to establish some truth for truth’s sake but it is a solution to the fundamental human problem of experiencing ourselves as limited beings.” But would that not be true of the other varieties of Vedanta schools and other schools of Indian Philosophy in general?

To answer the question, ‘why should a student of Vedanta bother about other philosophical systems?’, the author takes a brief survey of Indian philosophy in the Appendices of the book. The importance of an appropriate guru in learning Vedanta is highlighted in the second appendix. An appropriate guru is one who not only has “adequate grounding in the scriptures and their teaching methods” but also one “who actually lives the values and lifestyle” he preaches.

The author very candidly condemns the “self-appointed”, “eloquent, and quick-witted” gurus who though teach renunciation to the pupils, acquire more and more wealth for themselves, build brands and build their empires. They act as the CEOs of commercial corporates and are ready to do anything to increase their power and wealth. Such gurus “put serious seekers on a false and frustrating path. The ‘advance’ teachings of such cult leaders lack real substance, often being misleading”. A genuine seeker should avoid such gurus. The author advises true seekers to follow “the old Latin maxim caveat emptor (buyer beware!)”.

The glossary of Vedantic terms as given at the end of the book will certainly be useful for the readers.

The reviewer is former Professor of Philosophy, Delhi University, Delhi. Views expressed are personal.

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