Our sacred crest

Saraswat Sanmarg Series

THE ALL INDIA SARASWAT FOUNDATION BOMBAY

Saraswat Sanmarg Series—I

OUR SACRED CREST

D. N. NADKARNI

THE ALL INDIA SARASWAT FOUNDATION 4/418, Arun Chambers Tardeo Road BOMBAY-34

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THE ALL INDIA SARASWAT FOUNDATION

Title : OUR SACRED CREST Written by D. N. NADKARNI

Printed by H. N. RAO at PHILPRESS 28-D, Police Court Lane Bombay-1.

Published by D. N. NADKARNI for THE ALL INDIA SARASWAT FOUNDATiON at 4/418, Arun Chambers Tardeo Road, BOMBAY-34.

Price : Two Rupees

2,000 Copies; November, 1 9 7 2 .

Editorsâ€&#x; Preface

SARASWAT SANMARG The central objecl of the All India Saraswat Foundation is to work for rejuvenation of the national ethos by inspiring the intelligentsia to fedeem the dynamic concepts and eternal values of the ancient culture of Aryavarta. This culture commends a full life based on a recognition of the primacy of the spirit over mind and instinct; of Dharma as a confluence of the laws of nature and the moral law; and of Yajna or altruistic self-discipline as the Dharma of the life of the spirit.

The national ethos itself is but a means to an end. For, the vindication of healthy nationalism lies in its dedication to humanity. The larger, long-term objective of the Foundation is therefore to secure universal acceptance of the Dharma of the human spirit. This is not religious revivalism, for Dharma in its correct sense stands above all differences of faith, creed and race.

No quixotic plan to tilt at the windmill of urbanisation and to advocate a return to the land is intended, nor an imbecilc effort at turning back the clock of history. It is assumed that the basic nature of human problems never changes; and that the wisdom of an age when contemplation was honoured as the noblest among the liberal professions may well be salutary at a time when man is so engrossed in the means of living as to overlook the ends of his existence on earth.

There is no evidence to indicate that human intelligence has improved in its quality or capacity since the dawn of history. The inventor of the decimal system of numerals need not give precedence to Newton or Einstein; and the author of the Mahabharata does not have to be shy in the presence of Dante and Milton. Changes have occurred and are now occurring, however, in the employment of the intellect. The printing press has put an end to that amazing

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exercise of the powers of memory which once preserved the Vedas and the Maha-Kavyas, so that Tri-pathi has survived as but a family name. A more significant change in intellectual function is taking place at the present time. Man is tending to surrender his capacity for memory as also his power of judgment to the electronic computer. it is perhaps too early yet to estimate the computer's influence on man's culture. But it will not do to overlook the fact that the surrender to the machine extends, beyond the realm of the human intellect to the realm of the spirit of man. What is passed on to the machine is not only the function of storing and evaluating facts, but also the right of judgment and decision, the prerogative of inspiration to overrule facts, and the intensely human privilege of taking chances with error. No computer would have shifted the telescope to the blind eye and won the battle of Trafalgar for the British fleet; nor would a computer‟s disclosure of Satyakama‟s parentage have given that innocent youth and his brave mother the immortality of the Upanishad.

Even a semblance of the surrender of the human will to the automated machine induces the nightmare vision of .the proliferating octopus of civilisation smothering the tender body of culture. There is a more direct warning against man‟s engrossment in the means to the neglect of the ends of his existence. Western youth has started proclaiming that a combination of political independence, social freedom and economic affluence is not enough to satisfy the hunger of the human soul. So young men and young women with freedom of vote and freedom of mate and all the excitement that television and racing cars provide, yet seek refuge in the fake Yoga of opiate dreams and in a tinsel Sannyasa of listless wandering with unkempt hair and unshod feet.

The confusion of the means for the ends is humanity‟s primary problem today. All other problems, political or

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economic or social, national or international, stem from it.

The problem must be solved before (the whole of humanity is overwhelmed. And the only solution is to redefine and re-assert the ends and aims of existence, to recognise the fact of primacy of the life of the spirit over the life of mind and instinct, to clarify the relationship between affluence and happiness, power and peace, conscience and convenience, civilisation and culture. Yet no government, capitalist or socialist, secular or fanatical, gives this problem a place in its five-year plans or annual budgets. This vital issue is left entirely to the initiative and effort of voluntary private enterprise.

In its modest little way, the All India Saraswat Foundation aims at being one such enterprise. The fact that celebrated institutions like the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan. the Vivekanand Kendra, the Ramakrishna Mission and the Chinmaya Mission are already splendidly active should stimulate rather than inhibit the Foundationâ€&#x;s efforts.

The Foundation seeks to support no dogma, to promote no creed. Its interest is to investigate the relevance of Vedic wisdom to the inevitable conditions of modern life, and lo seek consistent acceptance of their demonstrated relevance in day to day living. There is no intention, to preach the simple life, but every intention to attempt an analysis of the complex problems of modernism into simple, elementary factors., so that the problems themselves stand exposed as but the hoary maladies for which Vedic psychology had already found the cure. There is. also the intention to act on the fundamental fact of life, that a meaningful application of psychological or spiritual remedies to social problems involves the offering of voluntary service on the material plane.

The Foundation has given this plan and process the name of Saraswat Sanmarg: The Saraswat Path of Good.

The adjective Saraswat connotes the concept of a full life led

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in a spirit of dedication, as expressed in the Rig Vedic hymn (VII--96-4): —

“In our devotion to our families, in the generosity of our charity, in our spirit of progress, we do homage to God Saraswan."

Saraswan, from whom the word Saraswat is derived, stands for the diety of the sacred river Saraswati, signifying peace and plenty; and» like all Vedic deities, is worshipped as a form of Brahman, the Ultimate Reality: “Tvameva

Pratyaksham Brahmaasi.‫״‬ Saraswat Sanmarg commends this attitude to life. This series of tracts and books, carrying that title, will generally carry that commendation in dealing with a variety of conceptual as well as practical problems. Yet, that is not the only or even the main object of the series. The principal object is to promote, in howsoever small a degree, the habit of thought and of an identity between thought and action.

Personal convictions, however inadequate, influence life more effectively than a borrowed faith, however profound. Saras-wat Sanmarg is therefore the path of free and independent thinking.

With an eye to efficacy rather than from modesty or disability, the Foundation‟s field of activity will be the middle classes of society, consisting largely of men and women with the capacity but without the inclination or urge to thinking.

The Foundation looks to such people for the authorship as well as readership of the Saraswat Sanmarg series of publications.

No celebrities or professional intellectuals will be normally invited to contribute to the series. Lay men and women, with perhaps better leisure for thought and better

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felicity of expression than the average, are welcome as authors. Since the objective is to promote original thinking, skepticism and challenge will be encouraged and not discounted. Readersâ€&#x; criticism will be welcomed and, as far as may be, will be fruitfully used.

The Saraswat Sanmarg Series is an experiment in free dialogue among equals. There is no pontification, no preaching down, no blind adherence to any belief or concept.

Philosophical conundrums and subtleties will be dissolved by common sense instead of being further complicated by scholarship. The ancient Vedic wisdom of Aryavarta will be put to the lest of the practical sense of the educated Indian hesitating on the threshold of the electronic age.

Bombay, Vijaya Dashami, October 17, 1972.

B. P. ADARKAR D. N. NADKARNI Editors

Contributors to the Saraswat Sanmarg Series have full freedom of opinion. Their v i e w s are therefore their own, and The All India Saraswat Foundation takes no responsibility for any opinions expressed or statements made by them.

OUR SACRED CREST 1. The Creative Sacrifice There is no escape from Religion. No man of sound mind is without it. For, no normal person can help wondering at the vast universe about him and his own place in the bewildering scheme of things; and the faith or conviction or belief or fancy emerging from this wonder and reflection is the foundation of his religion. The relationship or attitude that a man adopts, in consequence of this faith or fancy, with the rest of mankind and indeed with all the life around him, is the core of his morality. And the degree of synthesis he achieves between his religion, his morality and his natural zest for life and self-expression, is the measure of his culture.

There is neither morality nor culture without religion.

These processes of emotion, thought and reflection are both conscious and sub-conscious. And the organised religions of the world are conglomerations of the thought and experience of countless individuals through the ages. All religions converge and cohere on a central theme, that man's true life is the life of the spirit, and not his gross existence, to be guarded and nourished in preference to all else.

It is given to but a few men like Gandhi and Vinoba to put the tenets of organised religion to the test of conscious and conscientious personal experience. Indeed, as was manifest in the case of Tagore, they hold by their own thought

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and experience and call upon the known tenets of religion to bear witness. These men revitalise and transform the brand of religion which they eventually accept, and re-establish the essential place of religion in human life and progress.

Most of us, on the other hand, find it convenient to accept a handy label like Hinduism or Christianity as a cover for our unwillingness to face our own thoughts and reflections. Indeed, we use the labels to excuse and pamper our weaknesses. We may, however, claim the saving grace of hypocrisy, that it is itself a tribute to virtue. We would, if we could, be good Hindus or Muslims or Christians as the case may be, and we are always willing to applaud the genuine article. That is the pattern of our religion, with its corresponding consequences to our morality and our culture.

A man‟s vacation will naturally influence his thinking, but does not determine the pattern of his religion. Contrary to the popular belief that science by its nature negates theism, eminent scientists have proclaimed their belief in an Omnipotent Supreme Power. The celebrated German physicist Planck was responsible for the eloquent assertion that while God was the starting point of the ignorant. He was the crown of a scientist‟s career.

Rationalism and agnosticism are as genuine religious attitudes as theism is. For, they are also derived from man's reaction to the universe around him and dictate the morality and culture of their adherents. The only difference is that theism is the most logical in its ethical derivatives. Gandhiji with his theism, Russell with his rationalism and Nehru with his agnosticism reached the same moral conclusion on the nature of man‟s mission on earth, namely, the service of his fellowmen. Gandhiji alone reached his‫ ׳‬conclusion on logical grounds. He believed in God, and in the Hindu concept of a divine element in all life. The purpose of man‟s existence

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was to realise God. Therefore, the means of realising God

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was to sacrifice the self in the service of humanity, indeed of all living beings. Rationalist Russell, on the other hand, could put forward only the tenuous plea of utilitarianism, that the human race could neither prosper nor even survive on any other terms than those of selfless service. And the agnostic Nehruâ€&#x;s passionate plea for human dignity spoke more for his nobility of mind than for his logic.

He who thinks has thus a religion of his own, with a corresponding code of morality and standard of culture. The dunce and the bigot are alone and alike without a genuine religion, for neither is capable of thinking for himself. They have therefore neither a morality nor a culture of their own.

At best they are imitators, without even the saving grace that hypocrisy claims.

Appreciation of these primary realities gave Vedic Hinduism those unique qualities which make it a universal religion.

(1) Since religion was recognised to be a process of thought, feeling, reflection and experience, what we now know as Vedic Hinduism was not codified and was not even given a name.

For the same reason, it made no claim to a monopoly of passports to salvation, witness the closing verses of the famous Naasadeeya Sookta of the Rig Veda, which challenge all claims to omniscience.

(2) Since religion was recognised to be a matter of personal reflection and conviction, Vedic Hinduism was never forced on people under duress of retribution here or hereafter, so that it has left no trail of blood on the course of human history.

(3) For the same reason, dogmatism was abjured and the human intellect given the place of primacy which other religions, especially the Semetic ones, give to acceptance of commandments. Neither prophet nor saviour was recognised except God Himself, nor was salvation promised without the

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rigours of tapas or self-discipline. Hence the significant importance given to the Gayatri Mantra with its inclusion in three of the four Vedas.

(4) The correspondence between macrocosm and microcosm, which the physical sciences are now at pains to emphasise; was recognised in the Vedic age. It was thus that Dharma encompassed in itself the laws of nature as well as the laws of morality and of social acceptance.

(5) The co-relationship between religion, ethics and culture being perceived, the three were placed on a common foundation.

That foundation was Yajna or self-sacrifice.

The Vedic concept of Sacrifice was as an interchange between gods and men, indicating the inter-dependence of all things and beings in creation. The Sacrificial Altar embraces the utmost ends of the Universe, says the Rig Veda (1-16435). It contains the whole cosmos, both material and spiritual. The individual and the cosmos depend on each other, and so do human life and the world life.

Sacrifice, thus, is the primary law of life. For that reason, it cannot be negative or destructive by its nature. Mere destruction is not Sacrifice. All Sacrifice, declares the Atharva Veda (U-7), is a creative act, and all life and the universe are contained in its remains. To call sacrifice a creative act is not a contradiction in terms. The spirit is the true substance of human existence; and every denial of the life of the mind or of the life of instinct, designed to sustain or enrich the life of the spirit, is a creative act. It creates the man, or, rather, re-creates his manhood.

In the narrow field of human culture, sacrifice is the key to sound sociology. The wise giving away their wisdom, the brave their valour, the rich their wealth, and the workers their labour, join in a common sacrifice to create a balanced and progressive social order.

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This is the background of Yajna which is the theme of the crest adopted by the Ail India Saraswat Cultural Organisation as well as the All India Saraswat Foundation. No attempt is made here to present a thesis on Yajna. Neither is an apology needed for this brief discussion of the crest itself. For, the spirit of Yajna, as inspiration and sustenance of social and public service, is by itself a theme undeniably relevant to the present time.

It is a tribute to our national quality of altruism, that the number of institutions designed for selfless service continues to grow. But it is also a reflection on our national character, that these institutions progressively suffer for lack of dedicated men capable of sustained sacrifice. The impulse to sacrifice is there. How else would altruistic institutions be bom? What is lacking is the strength of faith, adequate to sustain the sacrifice and to make it a way of life. Such faith can draw its best sustenance from the religion and philosophy of Yajna.

II. Yajna in Life and Culture If the All India Saraswat Cultural Organisation were to do no more than popularising its crest, it would achieve a great deal more than reasonable optimism expects of it. The AISCO crest, designed by the Preparatory Committee m an evidently inspired moment, depicts a Yajna or sacrificial fire with the Pranava Om superimposed and bearing the motto “May sacrifice be attained through sacrifice.” A more felicitous emblem could hardly be wished.

The crest has the negative virtue of avoiding dissent as well as the positive virtue of practical idealism. It epitomises the what and the why of the AISCO as well as of its ambitious creation, the All India Saraswat Foundation.

The bewildering stresses and strains that the country is passing through, are symptoms of an inner crisis of faith, of a confusion in the popular concept of the meaning and purpose of life. At the root of the political, economic and social upheavals is a wavering of the spirit. The situation calls for an appeal to the true genius of India; and that genius is found in the inspired utterances of the seers of the Vedas.

“Back to the Vedas” is a familiar slogan, used in earnest as well as in derision. It is a misleading slogan. For, the minds of the ancient rishts are not only abreast of modem thought but far ahead of it. It is medieval thought that is crusted and out of date. A revival of Vedic wisdom, a rereading of the Veda in the modem context, and a scrapingout of the layers of excrescence that have piled up on the popular mind through the ages: that is the national need at this moment. That is the core of die AISCO‟s objectives, for the task may well be claimed to be a peculiarly Saraswat privilege.

The genesis and pristine character of Chaturvaraya, the Order of the Four Divisions of Society, as recorded in the

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Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (I; IV; 11-15), make it the responsibility of the Brahmanas to guard the social structure of the nation and to step in to correct any imbalances that may emerge. At the present time, it is the responsibility of all Brahmanas as a class, of those, that is, who claim or own up to the Brahmanical heritage, to think out, plan and initiate measures, within the limitations of their present condition, to set right the loosened and shaking cultural structure of Indian society. And, to the extent that this' process involves a modernised revival of Vedic wisdom, it is possible for a vigorous Saraswat patriotism to claim precedence in the responsibility. Whether fact, fable or legend, the story goes that the Saraswats saved the Veda through a long period of devastating famine. Opportunity beckons to the Saraswats today to accept that story as an allegory, and to substantiate the allegory with their actions.

Nothing Sectarian Here That is the message of the crest of the All-India Saraswat Cultural Organisation and of the Saraswat Foundation.

A primary virtue of the design lies in the fact that it rises above sectarian dogma and, indeed, is valid for all sects. The divergent theological and metaphysical beliefs within the Saraswat fold itself are reconciled. It is valid to the Dwaitin as well as to the Adwaitin, to the Vaishnavite as well as to the Shaivite. It proclaims a universal ideal and a universal means of attaining it. Its message is not for Saraswats alone, but for the nation; indeed, for all humanity.

The “Om” in the crest proclaims that universality. The Pranava is a symbol of Truth, of the Eternal Verity in existence. The Gita (VIII-13) calls it “Brahman in a single syllable”. It is capsuled Reality, The Katha Upanishad (1-2-15) carries this vivid des-

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cription or definition of Om : “The Goal which all the Vedas repeatedly proclaim, which motivates all austerities, in pursuit of which men practise Brahmacharya, that Goal I declare to you in brief. It is Om”.

At the mention of Om, therefore, the pettiness in human thought and action vanishes, and men‟s minds are attuned to the sublime and the beautiful. The inscription of this inspiring symbol in the AISCO crest is conclusive assurance that the AISCO is motivated by the quest for national and universal well-being, and not by any parochial ambition of sectarian Saraswat progress. It is no wonder, therefore, that the very first major action of the AISCO, taken within a few weeks of its own formation, was the creation of the nonsectarian All India Saraswat Foundation, dedicated to the service of the nation and of humanity.

Symbol of Harl-Hara The substance of the crest is the representation of Ya jna.

The theological significance of Yajna is not without its interest to the Saraswat mind.

“Yajna is Vishnu, Protector of all that lives”, says the Upanishad. The Taittiriya Samhita (1-7-4) reaffirms the statement. Sacrifice is Vishnu or the Supreme.

Matrayam

Vishnu makes His appearance when the Yajna is complete. The reign of peace and plenty is an expression of the Grace of Vishnu. But the Grace of Vishnu is not earned until the offering to Rudra is complete.

The sacred flame of Yajna is Rudra. He is the God of destruction, of the perennial mutation of all that has name or form. He is therefore God of evolution as well as of

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revolution. The Shiva-Linga we worship represents the flame

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of tha sacrificial fire, and the base of the Linga represents the “Vedi” or “Havana-kunda”. The word “linga” means “symbol”. The Shiva Linga is a symbol of the sacred fire, or Yajna.

The theological concept of Yajna is the unison of Hari and Hara. The philosophical concept is also the same. The Grace of Vishnu is nothing less than “happiness untouched by sorrow”. The oblation to Rudra is nothing less than all that the sacrificer has and is. The one is conditional on the other. In adopting the Yajna symbol for its crest, the AISCO proclaims the Saraswat ideology of self-sacrifice for the benefit of society at large. That is Yajna. That is the worship of Hari-Hara.

The Nature! of Yajna Yajna is the central theme of the Vedic way of life. The Vedic mantras have a dual implication : ritual-cum-physical, and psychological-cum-philosophical. And, though they give ihe impression of a miscellany, they converge into a logical, practical and noble way of life. All references to the ritual yajna in the Vedas thus carry, and are intended to carry, far-reaching psychological, philosophical and sociological implications. The ritual yajna is a symbol and reminder of the philosophical concepts and psychological disciplines which are the inner yajna.

The spiritual and ethical significance of the ritual yajna itself is made plain by the Chkandogya Upamshad (III-17-4) with the declaration that “austerity, charity, uprightness, nonviolence and truthfulness are the dakshind' or gifts with which the yajna is to be completed; in other words, that the ritual yajna is an occasion for a renewal of the resolve to pursue these virtues.

The Gita uses the word yajna in the psychological and

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sociological senses alone. No ritual is implied. Any doubt on this issue that may be relevant to the Third Chapter is dissolved by the Fourth which, in ten lucid verses (24 to 33), enumerates a variety of psychological and social disciplines as yajnas. For example, “Some others offer their sense organs like the ears as oblation to the fire of discipline." No ritual can possibly be meant in réferences of this kind.

The Vedas and the Upanishads are replete with the concept of yajna as the Law of Life. The Shatapatha Brahmana (9-4-1-11) sums up the concept.

“All sentient beings live on yajna.” Men, like the gods, being endowed with intelligence, are called upon to adopt yajna, that is, self-sacrifice, as a deliberate way of life. The right life is a series of sacrifices. Indeed, the three ritual sacrifices that the Brahmana is expected to perform every day are a symbol of the self-sacrifice that every man is expected to perform during the three stages of his life. Thus the Chhandogya Upanishad (3/16/1-7) divides man's life into three spans of yajna. The first 24 years are “Pratah· Savana”, the morning sacrifice. The next 44 years are the Mid-day Yajna. The last 48 years are the third or Evening Sacrifice. Thus the man who consciously leads a life of yajna lives 116 years. “Human life is Yajna.”

Yajna or self-sacrifice is a law of nature, a law of life, and therefore a primary, inescapable Dharma. “Man was created with Yajna," declares the Gita (III-10): Yajna has three aspects : self-restraint, self-denial, and service of others. “What is known as Yajna is Brahmacharya

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(or self-restraint) itself,” announces the Chhandogya Upon· shad (8-5-1) : The Gita (IV; 26-32) spells out several examples of yajna in all three aspects : sacrifice of the senses in the fire of Self-restraint; sacrifice of wealth in the fire of self-denial; and sacrifice of possessions, including wealth and talent, in the fire of altruistic service, ending up with the annihilation of the ego in a dedication of life to humanity.

Pervasiveness of Yajna : The idealist form of Yajna is the Brahma-Yajna, performed in the faith that all is in reality Brahman. Self-sacrifice, according to the Gita (IV-24), is thus a process of Jnana or Self-Realisation :

"The sacrifice, is offered to Brahman, the oblation is Brahman, it is offered by Brahman in the fire that is Brahman; thus he who is fully engrossed in this act (of sacrifice) which is Brahman, must needs pass on to Brahman.”

To know this, is Jnana, the “Realisation of the Self'", which is the aim of all spiritual aspiration and the goal of all human life.

Self-denial for the universal good is also, according to the Gita, an expression of Bhak;ti. For, all those acts and things which, in Chapter IV of the Gita, are commended to be performed in the spirit of sacrifice, are again commended in Chapter IX to be surrendered to God as an expression of Bhakti:

It is plain, therefore, that the two acts or processes, of

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sacrifice and of surrender, are spiritually identical. Yajna, then, is Bhakti. The rationale of self-denial as a form of sacrifice and the rationale of surrender to God as an expression of Bhakti are the same. God pervades, all. „,Brahma havih” as the Gita puts; it : all that you can offer as oblation is itself Brahman. The Isha Upanishad, in the celebrated aphorism from which it takes its name, says the same thing somewhat differently : “A11 this, whatever, moves iu this world, is enveloped by God.” Even as Yajna is a process of Jnana Yoga and Bhakti Yoga, it is also a process of Karma Yoga :

“This world of men suffers bondage from all action save that which is done for the sake of sacrifice; therefore, O Son of Kunti, perform all action without attachment" (Gita, III-9). Yajna, thus, is a safety measure against the chain-reaction of Karma; which means that it is an instrument of Karma Yoga or Anasakti Yoga. Note, incidentally, the implication of the advice to Arjuna. The implication is that detachment, as a form of self-denial, is Yajna. And this is re-affirmed in the next Chapter (IV-23) :

"Of the free soul who has shed all attachment, whose mind is firmly grounded in knowledge, who acts only for sacrifice, all Kama is extinguished”; that is, its power of chain-reaction is destroyed.

Yajna, then, is the ground of all the. three great Paths of Salvation ; Jnana Yoga, Bhakti Yoga and Karma Yoga.

It is the Dharma which ensures Moksha. Without it, there is no Moksha. It has to be the first concern of those concerned

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with man‟s ultimate destiny. No wonder that Yajna was the mainstay of life in the Vedic age.

The Sociology of Yajna

Even so, were the insurance of Moksha the only claim to be made for Yajna, its use in the crest of the All India Saraswat Cultural Organisation would have been a measure of doubtful propriety. For, the direct and primary concern of the AISCO will be rather with the development of Artha and Kama than with Moksha. The AISCO will look for ways and means of betterment of the economic, social and cultural conditions of Saraswats and of their place in the national life. The Saraswat Foundation will do the same for a wider public. Their interest in spiritual advancement will be only incidental to that search.

Yajna will not let down the AISCO or the Foundation.

The crest is assured of vindication. For, the sages of the Vedas and Upanishads had discovered in Yajna a synthesis of the three compelling and apparently incongruous ambitions natural to man, Artha and Kama and Moksha, the urge for physical, emotional and spiritual fulfilment.

Because yajna or self-sacrifice was the Vedic Way of Life, it was a full life, both personally and socially. Yajna here is a process of discipline, detachment and distribution, not of renunciation. It is not basically the way of Sannyasa, except the Sannyasa accepted as the fourth and final “ashrama” or stage of the “shata-kratu”, the man who lives a hundred years in the spirit of yajna; or of the one who takes to Sannyasa from a compelling inner urge for selfexpression, the same kind of urge which brings forth great poets or great musicians.

It is worth digressing here to point out that the Vedic concept of Sannyasa itself was not quite the same as that of later ages. The Vedic Sanayasin was not an anchorite. Not

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even the man of God-realisation was expected to withdraw from the world. He led a vigorous, active life of usefulness to mankind. The Murtdaka Upanishad, which treats of Sannyasins and, indeed, derives its name from the Sannyasins‟ practice of shaving the head, makes this explicit statement : “Sporting in the Self, delighting in the Self, a man of action all the same, such a one is the greatest among the knowers of Brahman.” (III-l-4) :

Great seers of the Upanishads, like Yajnavalkya, were happily married men who earned and gave and also saved.

The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad ( I ‫ ־‬I V 3 ‫ ) ׳‬reports Yajnavalkya‟s dictum that “the vacant part of man is completed by the woman;‟‟ that man and wife together make a rounded personality : Sex was by no means taboo in the Vedic way of life.

The Gita, indeal, gives the stamp of divine identity to the “procreative passion‟: ” Men are urged to produce wealth, not to shun it. The Tattireeya Upanishad lays down the “vrata” or social discipline in this respect. “Wealth should not be disparaged; that is social discipline ..... Do not forbear to earn wealth; that is social discipline ..... Step up economic productivity, gather more wealth; that is social discipline." (The word used in the text is “anna”, literally meaning “food”.

But the word “anna” and the relevant words “pacha” meaning cooking and “ada" meaning eating are employed in Vedic literature as well as in the Gita in the larger sense of wealth and its use.)

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In the context of worldly pleasures, yajna consists of obedience to Dharma. personal and social. The Gita, again, ennobles disciplined enjoyment. “Pleasures not averse to Dharma" are of divine origin: In the economic context, too, yajna consists of obedience to Dharma, in adopting the Dharmic attitude to wealth and possessions. It is an attitude of “anasakti” or detachment, not of indifference or abhorrence. The first two books of the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, especially the celebrated Yajnavalkya-Maitreyi Dialogue, lay the foundation of the Gandhian theory of the Trusteeship of Wealth, to which the Mahatma is believed to have been inspired by the Isha aphorism, “Find your enjoyment in a spirit of detachment: covet not what ought to be another‟s”.

It is a form of Voluntary Socialism. Precepts like “Atithi-Devo-Bhava” are derived from this concept: “Look upon the needy as God Himself.” This voluntary socialism of the concept of Yajna is prescribed both on moral and practical grounds. While the “gathering of wealth‫ ״‬is encouraged, hoarding and meanness are denounced : “The lone eater is the lone sinner” (Rig Veda X-l 17-6).

He who uses his wealth for himself alone leads a life of sin.

That is the moral rule of the Veda. The Gita (111-13) confirms the rule. “Those who cook for themselves alone, feed on sin.”

On the other hand, “those who enjoy what remains after the performance of sacrifice (giving to the needy) are freed from all sins.” (Gita, III-13). The residue of sacrifice is called "amrita” or elixir of eternal life. The Manu-Smriti

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as well as the Gita uses the word “amrita” in that sense.

Thus, the Gita ( I V 3 ‫ ־‬l ) .

“Those who live on amrita, that is, the residue of sacrifice, attain to eternal Brahman."

As wealth must be shared, so too must knowledge and skill be shared with those who need them. That is yajna of a high otder. The Manu-Smriti(4-2&) calls it Brahtna Yajna : At the same time, if you are capable of building up your own knowledge and skills, it is your duty to dp so.

Self-improvement is “Swaadhyaaya Yajna” (Gita, IV-28).

Indolence and indifference make a man 'an “ayajna”, a wrong kind of man.

Yajna thus functions in the realm of culture, too.

Virtues like humility and non-violence are yajna, as they involve a process of self-restraint: “Yajna is humility.” (Yajur-Veda 13*8).

"Non-violence is Yajna.” (Skatapatha Brahmana.

1-2-4).

As a life of Yajna is commended on ethical and cultural grounds, it is also commended on the practical consideration of material and social advancement. The moral law offers the best rule of worldly achievement. Thus, the individual who practises Yajna is better off than the one who does not: “Those who do not perform Yajna (do not give away in the spirit of Yajna) go to ruin even if they are liberal in their spending” (Rig. Veda, 1-33-4):

YAJNA JN LIFE AND CULTURE

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“People who do not perform Yajna are humbled and repulsed in any competition with people who do perform yajna.” (Rig Veda, 1-33-5).

The Gita has the last word on the subject (IV-31): "This world itself is not for the non-sacrificer. What hope for him, then, of a higher world?”

A nation or a community of people leading an organised life of sacrifice will “attain the highest good". (Gita, III-ll):

Call to Conscience What is the sanction, what is the urge, behind the call to the life of yajna?

It would be a poor yajna that is performed in blind obedience to the Veda. For, the Veda countenances no Commandments, except from the Acharya to the initiated pupil. The Vedas, the Upanishads and the Gita inform, reveal, exhort and warn; they do not command. Their truths are announced to the human intelligence, and it is up to every man to accept them or to pass them by. The human will, the most precious of God‟s creations, is to be exercised, strengthened and illumined in freedom; it is not to be weakened, bent or suppressed by subordination. The reins of man‟s destiny must be held by his own free and healthy will.

So it is that the Gayatri Mantra, the most sacred of all Mantras and the pass-word of Brahmanism, asks not for the salvation of the soul but for illumination of (he intelligence: “We absorb in our intellect the supreme light-energy of the god Savitr, that he may inspire and stimulate, our intelligence.”

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The Gita confirms this primacy of the intelligence.

"Mere action, O Dhananjaya, is far inferior to (action flowing from) the Yoga of intelligence. (Therefore) take refuge in the intelligence.” (11-49): Openmindedness, contemplation and equanimity are cardinal conditions of this Buddhi Yoga or recourse to the intelligence. (Gita, 11-42. 44, 48). Dogmatism, bigotry and blind obedience are un-Vedic attitudes. Faith itself must stem from conviction, not hang on blind belief. Uniquely among the great religions of the world, Vedic wisdom proclaims that primacy of the human intelligence and freedom of the human will, from which the modem ideology of Liberty and Democracy is derived.

Any possible doubt on this score is set at rest by Shree Krishna. That is a lesson of the Gita which‫ ׳‬merits more attention than it generally‫ ׳‬receives. The Divine Song took shape, not because of Arjuna‟s “vishaada" or depression, but in response to his insistent appeal for a commandment or directive. Right at the beginning of the soul-stirring dialogue, Arjuna beseeches Shree Krishna: "Tdl me for certain wherein lies my good.” (II-7): Shree Krishna‟s response is a dissertation on life and death and honour. That does not satisfy Arjuna, who repeats his appeal for a directive which he can blindly obey.

“Tell me decisively the one thing by which I can attain to (he highest good.” (III-2): And Arjuna does not stop with a mere appeal. Being aware of the impropriety of blind belief in matters of the spirit, he hastens to create that relationship between Shree

YAJNA IN LIFE AMO CULTURE

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Krishna and himself which alone would make command and obedience legitimate: (he Guru-Shishya relationship “I am Thy disciple. Direct me, who seek refuge in Thee.”

(II I 7 ‫ ) ־‬: The point is that even so, Shree Krishna hands out neither a directive nor a commandment. On the other hand, having led his “beloved friend” Arjuna into “the mystery of all mysteries” of existence, and having given him the unprecedented privilege of a glimpse of Cosmic Reality, the Lord yet calls upon him to use his own judgment to decide what is good for him:

„Thus have I explained to you the most mysterious of all mysterious knowledge. Ponder over it thoroughly, and then act as you will.” (XVIII-63).

A genuine inner conviction, not formal outward conduct, is what matters. Sacrifice must therefore emanate from a free, healthy and illumined intelligence. The self-sacrifice of fools and fanatics is not Yajna. Rabble-rousing and mass indoctrination are offences against God who made the human intelligence as man's instrument of approach to the divine.

The inspiration to a life of yajna must therefore come from a free intelligence, from a clear understanding of Dharma or the Law of Life, as a result of “pondering over it thoroughly”. The Tcdttireeya Upanishad makes this clear: “Sacrifice is actuated by a refinal understanding based on sound knowledge; and so, too, are duties.” Mahatma Gandhi called it the “inner voice”. The common, and commonly ill-used, name for it is Conscience.

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OUR SACRED CREST

The Life of Yajna, then, must derive its sanction from the conscience of man; and its driving force, as in all noble endeavour, from Faith. And the faith, in this case, is in the divine origin of the conscience itself.

The Yajna in the crest of the Saraswat Cultural Organisation derives its propriety from this call to conscience.

For. what is culture but an outward expression of an inner grace?

The Badge of the Saraswat Discipline, Detachment and Service are the three major components of this Yajna. All other virtues flow from this combination. Service rendered as Yajna extends to all living beings, and becomes an act of dedication, of surrender to God. The nature of the individual is transformed in the process. All trace of selfishness vanishes. Life becomes a continuous yajna. The last lingering weakness is the awareness of the yajna. That, too. must go. The feeling, the satisfaction, the exaltation of yajna must be consigned to the flame. That is the supreme yajna. That is the culmination and fulfilment of the life of sacrifice. Of men who accomplish that ultimate yajna, the Gita (IV-25) says that „They offer Sacrifice itself as oblation to the Fire of Brahman.”

What the Gita commends to the. individual, the Rig Veda commends to societies of men. Accept the concept of sacrificing Sacrifice itself, and mankind will be transformed into a race of supermen. That is the law implicit in creation, and it is set out plainly in the most popular of all Rig Vedic mantras, the Purusha Sookta:

“The gods worshipped yajna with yajna; and that be-

YAJNA IN LIFE AMO CULTURE

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came the primary Dharma. Those great souls who perform such yajna attain to the realm of the Sadhya gods of yore.”

That is the ideal invoked by the pictorial part of the crest of the AISCO. The inscription set below it places the idealism on the practical plane.

“May sacrifice be attained through sacrifice.” The reference is not to the culmination of yajna, but to the process of progressive realisation of yajna through constant effort at self-discipline and self-sacrifice.

The quotation is from the climax of the Rudraadhyaaya, usually known simply as “Rudra", the mantra now employed in the “abhishek” of the Shiva Linga. The Rudraadhyaaya is part of the Tcûttireeya Samhita. It was of course a mantra for a ritual Yajna. Even now, “MahaRudra” and “Ati-Rudra”, consisting of multiple repetitions of the “?Mrfra”, are occasionally performed with ,,havana” or the sacred fire. The “Rudra” is a mantra of invocation and prayer based on a recognition of the divine in all existence and in all experience. The context of the present quotation runs thus:

It is a prayer for the “attainment”, that is, for the perfection, of life, the vital airs, the sense organs, the mind and the spirit, through yajna or self-discipline; and for the progressive development of the self-discipline itself through the practice of self-discipline. The refinement and perfection of the senses, the mind and the vital airs through the yajna of self-control are also referred to in the Gita (IV-26, 27,

29).

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The prayer in the “Rudra" is for the clarity of mind to see the path of yajna, and for the strength of will to adhere to it. It is also a prayer for “Krama-Mukii”, for the progressive realisation of man‟s mission on earth. “The consummation of all right endeavour is enlightenment.”

(Gita, IV-33). “Sacrifice is inspired by an enlightened understanding.” (Tait. Up 2-5-1). Therefore, every act of self-sacrifice adds to the sacrificer‟s enlightenment which, in turn, inspires further and larger self-sacrifice. That is "Krama-Mukti", a progressive course of Mukti. That is also the process asked for in the prayer to Rudra: “May sacrifice be attained through sacrifice.”

There is humility in this approach, bom of a recognition of the need for divine intervention for human progress and salvation. It is not given to man to reach his destiny by his own effort alone. The Grace of God is essential. Grace itself does not come as a whimsical gift. It comes in response to prayer.

It is important, here, to appreciate the nature of prayer.

Prayer is not only to be thought, said and sung. Prayer must be lived. Mere supplication is not prayer. The spirit of humility which supplication implies, and the spirit of the objective of the supplication, must alike permeate the thought and conduct of the supplicant. Then alone is the supplication a prayer, and will ensure divine response. Shree Krishna has made this clear beyond doubt. (Gita, IV-11).

“As men approach Me, in that spirit do I respond.”

It is only when heart and mind are of one accord in guiding a man‟s life and disciplining his conduct, that supplication becomes the soul‟s prayer and evokes a response in kind, the Grace of God. It is thus that the Shwetashwatara Upanishad declares that man can realise his destiny only by a “a combination of the power of self-dliscipline and the Grace of God”.

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The invocation in the “Rudra’ is primarily for this power of self-discipline which is an essential qualification of prayer. As prayer evokes Grace, and Grace in turn inspires prayer, the distinction between the two tends to fade away.

Prayer and Grace become one. Bhakti which initiated prayer, Karma which gave prayer its vlitality, and Jnana which is the light of Grace, are then seen to be not only inseparable but in reality the same.

For most of us, whose aims and ambitions in life do not reach up to that denouement, it is enough to regard the "Rudra" as an invocation to God to kindle and feed the flame of human conscience. With divine aid, small conscientious self-denials lead to major ones, and the Yajna of selfrestraint and self-denial becomes the man‟s compulsive prakriti or nature; so that he works and sweats without sorrow, and is happy with the "amrita" or remains of his yajna, freely giving of his time and talent and earnings for (he benefit of humanity. Such a man has no fear for his position in society. As said earlier, he is assured of victory in the competition inevitable in any social order. (Rig. Veda, 1-33-5). And he attracts the unqualified assurance given by the Gita (13I-II) to all men of yajna, “you shall attain the supreme good.”

This law and this goal of human existence are symbolised in the crest of the All India Saraswat Cultural Organisation which, in turn, has passed it on to the All India Saraswat Foundation. The adoption of the crest implies a commitment to live up to it, to demonstrate the beneficent power of prayerful sacrifice to give light and strength to a troubled nation. How far the AISCO and the Foundation will succeed in this objective, one does not know. The sponsors,

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however, may go ahead in the confidence that their effort is immune to frustration:

A beginning made in the cause of Dharma can never come to nought. That is the assurance of the Gita (II-40).

The seed of sacred intentions is never destroyed. It may take time to sprout. But some day it will inevitably grow into a tree that gives shade and fruit.

The crest, meanwhile, is by itself an achievement. It embodies a faith which the Saraswats may well be proud to be known by. For, as the Gita asserts, the essence of the human personality is faith; and a man should therefore be identified by his faith, rather than by his works. (XVII-3): What is true of the individual is also true of a social group.

May the Saraswats be worthy of being identified by their Organisation‟s Crest. May it be given to them, in an ever increasing measure.' to continue their tradition of service of their fellowmen. May it be given to them, more and more, to feed the Flame of Rudra and thereby to invoke the Grace of Vishnu to settle on this troubled land:

Saraswat Sanmarg Series — 2 “COMMUNITY AND COMMUNION : The Saraswat Experience” —K. GURU DUTT An illuminating treatise on the true nature and the rightful rote of Indian communities.

Enlightening to those connected with community institutions as well as to those keeping away from them.

YAJNA IN LIFE AMO CULTURE Price Rs. 5

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THE FOUNDATION OF CULTURE Man is not horn free. He is born with a multiplicity of obligations to a variety of individuals and institutions contributing to the domestic environment and the structure of civilisation in which he must have his being. The ancients called it the triple debt, owed to the gods, to the ancestors, and to the men of wisdom.

Ironically, man is left comparatively free to honour or disown these obligations. Their voluntary acceptance in the regulation of life is the spirit of man’s culture. It leads man to the noble path : to the Saraswat Sanmarg.

That is true of the individual, as also of the community, and of the group of communities known as the nation. To them all, the Saraswat Sanmarg is the path of self-fulfilment on the material as well as the spiritual plane.

He who looks at the marvellous harmony in the anatomy of the universe, as well as his own, is inclined to deflate his ego and devalue his individual interests.

He seeks the path of social harmony, which is indeed the Saraswat Sanmarg.

The cultivation of this w‫׳‬ay of life is the objective of the All India Saraswat Foundation. Contemplation of the harmony is the object of the Saraswat Sanmarg series of publications.