MANTRA 14

Even after the establishment of the society and allocation of functions to each group among the members of the society, the Purusha was not satisfied. He felt something missing on account of the possibility of exploitation of the weak by the strong.  He identified this problem and found the solution to this possible occurrence by projecting a particular form which is called dharma as the power to check injustice and regulate the affairs of the society. Dharma or justice is considered to be fiercer even than the fierce Kshatriya. The mantra says “there is nothing higher than justice. So even a weak man hopes to defeat a stronger man through justice, as one does with the help of a king”.

Truth is the understanding of things in accordance with the scriptures, which contain records of the true experiences of the ancient seers. It is the same thing that when practiced, is called justice and when understood in accordance with the scriptures, is called truth. Therefore the mantra says that which is justice is truth.

Justice (Dharma) in its double aspect of theory and practice controls all – those who know the scriptures as well as those who do not. If a person is in doubt about the true import of scriptures, he should ascertain it by observing what is practiced by good people. Again, if he is in doubt regarding the conduct of good people, he should ascertain its meaning from the instructions of the scriptures.  Thus justice and truth are mutually dependent.

Dharma which denotes law or justice is that by which unruly impulses are controlled. Even kings are subordinate to dharma, to the rule of law. Dharma is not made in the interests of the strong. It cannot be arbitrary. It is the embodiment of truth. Hence the mantra says “Verily that which is justice is truth. Therefore if a man speaks the truth, they say he speaks what is just and if he speaks what is just, they say he speaks the truth; verily both these are the same”. Satya and Dharma, truth and justice, are organically related.

MANTRA 15

This mantra says that Prajapati classified gods and men into these four groups for the effective performance of Vedic rituals.

MANTRA 16

This mantra discusses about the inter-dependence of different groups of people in the society. All beings in the relative universe, from the gods to the ants, are also slaves of desires which are satisfied through the fulfillment of their duties to one another. The cosmic process reveals the inter-dependence of men, the gods, the rishis, the Manes, and the animals. Duties to men are discharged through giving of shelter to guests and strangers, to the gods through the offering of oblations, to the rishis through the study of scriptures, to the Manes, through the begetting of children, to the animals by offering them fodder and water. These duties constitute an important factor in the Hindu ethics which believes that the gods, the rishis, the Manes, etc., protect men from injury because of these offerings.

The same idea is established in the theory of five great sacrifices pancha maha yajnah: bhuta yajna, manushya yajna, pitri yajna, deva yajna, and brahmayajna,  sacrifice for animals, men, manes, gods and seers.

MANTRA 17

The question why man prefers the bondage of ritualistic work when he can rid himself of the bondage of duty by knowing Brahman is answered in this last mantra of this Brahmana.

There are two natural urges inherent in mankind. They are desires to have a wife and to possess wealth. The entire range of multiple desires of man can be grouped under these two categories (kamini and kanchana as Sri Ramakrishna puts it); there cannot be any desire outside the scope of these two categories. The scriptures declare these are natural urges. Wife and wealth and the consequences arising therefrom constitute the entire work of earthly and heavenly longing of man. So when man is alone devoid of these two, wife and wealth, he feels a sense of incompleteness or void, until he gets any one of them. When he gets wife or wealth or both he is supposed to have attained the fulfillment of his desires. But rarely does it happen so.

Many times, even after fulfilling these inner urges he is haunted by a sense of dissatisfaction and incompleteness. Then how to get complete satisfaction? This mantra suggests a meditation by which these natural urges can be converted into spiritual energy; under this matters which are considered external and disconnected are brought within the realm of one’s own self.

The seeker has to imagine his mind as his self, because the mind is the chief of the organs as the rest of the organs follow the mind. Then he has to imagine speech as his wife as speech follows the mind. Similarly vital breath is to be considered as his child, the eye as his human wealth, the ear as his divine wealth, and the entire body as his instrument of rites for he performs rites through his body. For a man who considers himself incomplete, completeness can be achieved in this way through imagination just as it can be brought about through wife etc. This sort of yajna can be performed through meditation even by one who does not perform rites. He, who imagines himself to be the sacrifice consisting of these five factors viz., mind, speech, vital breath, ear and eye, which are the main five avenues for action, realizes the universe as his own self.

END OF SECTION IV

HARIH OM TAT SAT

[To be continued]