Communicating the Vedic Ideals to the Next
Generation by
Jai Maha Dev Vedic ideals are the noble virtues enumerated in the Vedas. How do we communicate the Vedic ideals to the next generation? All we need to do is live a Vedic lifestyle. We need to speak the truth with love and love the truth with all our heart, mind, and soul. The ‘truth’ is the Wisdom of Consciousness. The ‘Truth’ is not an objective reality separate from ourselves—it is the very essence of who we really are. We realize the Truth only when we are fully conscious and conscientious. We have to be aware of what is right and wrong and deliberately choose what is right. Atman (Pure Consciousness) knows the Truth, because Atman is eternal and unchangeable. The Truth is unclear only to the unenlightened mind. When the mind is inundated with Wisdom and that wisdom is put into practice, then (and only then) does the mind become fully enlightened. In other words, we need to use our power of discernment (higher intellect) to guide the mind to make right choices and do good actions, based on the knowledge we have acquired. If we acquire knowledge but don’t use it, we will lose it. If we know what is right but choose what is wrong, we will suffer injustice at the hands of our own ego. If we ‘know better’ but don’t do better, our life will not get better but only worse. Where do we go to learn Wisdom? We have to go to the Wise; we cannot rely on the mind that is a prisoner of ego and images, because that mind will twist the truth to satisfy its images. ‘Going to the Wise’ simply means directing your mind to the Vedic teachings. By studying the Vedic teachings we fill the mind with Vedic ideals, and we are prompted to fulfill those ideals by actualizing them in our daily life. A human being always acts (sooner or later) according to what they have in mind. This is the Law of Karma. We change our destiny by taking control of our mind. If we do not take control of our mind, our mind will think according to its previous impressions and will repeat or compliment the actions that created those impressions. In other words, unless we intercede and take control of our mind, we will repeat our mistakes (or create new ones). Replacing our negative thoughts with positive ones and overcoming our selfish tendencies is part of the challenge of life. If we are going to play the Game of Life to win (and be Liberated), we have to meet the challenges head-on. If we lose our head in the excitements and thrills of temporary pleasures and fleeting relationships, we can end up sidelined in life and never reach our Ultimate Goal. Our goal is to become completely selfless (completely free of false ego), and thus directly perceive ourselves as absolutely free. This perception is made only by the living self (Jivatman) in possession of a pure, enlightened, mind. If we are possessed by our mind we cannot ‘be our Self’ and realize the Presence of the Supreme Self. When we are completely free of our false identity (which is supported by images in the mind), we are completely at ease and directly realize our Essence: the Self of our Self, the Soul of our Soul, the Supreme Soul (Paramatman), the Supreme Creator (Parabrahma), the Ultimate Reality, the Ultimate Goal. The realization of our Essence is the highest ideal of the Vedas; it is the crown of all Vedic ideals. Unless and until the living self is crowned with this success, it will remain unfulfilled. We are bound by our eternal nature to continue to strive for this fulfillment by taking birth and refining our human nature until our divine nature is revealed. All other success stories are only preludes to the highest attainment of Salvation (Moksha). All worldly achievements are only ‘drills’ that help us in our quest for the attainment of Absolute Freedom and Divine Bliss. The attainment of this Freedom and Bliss is the essential purpose of our existence. We communicate this ideal to others by living a Vedic lifestyle and becoming fully established in communion with our Essence.
|
| Note: This article was excerpted from an earlier blog entry (refer to the Wisdom of Consciousness blog for the original) and from the article 'The Highest Vedic Ideal' (which also appears here in the Table of Contents). The article was intended for use as the subject matter of a talk given at the 17th Arya Maha Sammelan in Dallas, Texas on July 20, 2007. |
