26. Part 4 - The Final Chapter

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As we saw in Part 1 and 2, the Saraswati civilization was built on only two factors – science and service. Their science, which was mostly common sense, and the injunctions on performing charity held the society in the clutches of positivity. They did not require a ‘God’ to feel confident and secure. Idol worship was unheard of in the Vedic periods. When we know that we are right in our activities, automatically confidence boosts up. When the whole society was living as one big family based on responsibilities of Swadharma, there was only positivity and confidence everywhere. And then a few of them moved into deeper questions and realized the ultimate truth of creation. They taught the systematic ways of realizing that truth to the rest of the society. The ultimate truth was called by various terms such as ‘Brahman’, ‘Atman’ etc. The results of their Self-Enquiry were recorded as Upanishads and preserved.

When the Varna system got adulterated as explained in the earlier posts, there was no proper administration on Swadharma. The very foundation of the system shook, and as a consequence the conducive environment for spiritual enquiry was lost. Self-Realization became rarer and rarer and one day became almost unheard of. Brahmanas became Brahmanas just to idly sit and receive charity. Brahmanas now became mere data recorders who could promptly reproduce what was already written down by the earlier generations. They mugged up the entire research database (Vedas) instead of doing the research on their own. They forgot that experiences were to be experienced and not for theoretical learning. They denied to accept that they do not have experiences of their own. Because they were now addicted to the respect of the society. They were not ready to lose their status and dignity by letting others know that they are not Self-Realized. But there was a problem. Anybody could easily mug up the Vedas and other Shastras and become equal to them. So, all other Varnas were denied access to the knowledge database. Only Brahmana families mugged up all the shastras and showcased their memory power, Samskrita scholarliness in front of the society. Shastra knowledge itself became the ultimate knowledge. Brahmanas accumulated money and became owners of even entire villages. A Varna, that was meant to preserve knowledge, now went after Power and Wealth, but still called themselves as Brahmanas. How funny it would be if a soldier became a cook and still called himself a soldier? He would only be an uncooked soldier!

But as we saw in ‘Hide and Seek’, won’t we know when we are doing something rubbish? Didn’t the dummy Brahmanas know that they were empty inside? They knew, very well than any others. And that grew as a guilt within them. They had read all the Upanishads and had learnt the word ‘Brahman’. They themselves had not realized it, so they had no idea what this ‘Brahman’ is. They only knew that realized people had called it as Omnipotent, Omnipresent, Omniscient etc. So, now these guilty Brahmanas were in a fix. They knew that they were erring, and as a consequence they were now afraid of this ‘mighty’ Brahman. When we do mistakes it is our own Self that pricks us more than anything else. And when we do not listen to our Self, it turns into fear of an unknown entity called God. So, they were now scared of this all-powerful entity called Brahman. The concept of a ‘Punishing God’ sprouted, and this was the seed of negativity that spread throughout the entire society in no time.

Brahmanas, afraid about their own punishment by an unknown God, spread the same cock and bull story to everybody. Brahmanas, who were supposed to spread positivity and confidence in the society, now spread negativity – “If you do not perform this Yajna, God will punish you”, “If a shudra reads Veda, God will make him suffer for 7 lives” etc became the slogans. During the degradation of the society, and the deadly wars that took place, the Vedic science was also lost and had become empty rituals. No one knew what the exact mechanism and purpose of the Yajnas was. Brahmanas, who were supposed to know that, only knew the procedure and the mugged up mantras. And if someone asked them ‘Why should I perform this Yajna?’ the readymade answer was ‘To please God. Else, God will punish you’!! How could a learned Brahmana say ‘I do not know’ in front of the society? J

Now, this person ‘God’ was very mysterious and no one knew exactly what it was. They only knew to be afraid of him. Everybody gave their own chosen name an form to it. They began installing idols and worshipping. Worship rituals, which were not available till then, were written down and made as Shastras. All began acting like puppies and made God a big and powerful Dog! All their activities were out of fear of this dog and to please this dog. Negativity spread like a wild fire throughout the civilization. All slowly forgot that ‘Brahman’ was a state that had to be realized, and made it a distant and absurd concept.

Then came the Buddha. He searched for answers and found the ultimate truth that was long forgotten. He realized that same truth which ancient Vedic people had realized. His message of Nirvana, and his teachings to attain that state spread far and wide across the Indian subcontinent and even beyond. By seeing the slavery of the people to the concept of ‘God’ he did not answer to any questions related to God. He only encouraged people to reach that state of Nirvana by constant efforts. He openly proclaimed that ‘Buddha’ is only a state that can be attained by anybody. He was only promoting the truth of the Upanishads, the truth of ‘Brahman’ with different terminology – ‘Niravana’, ‘Buddha’. But ironically the Vaidika Brahmanas called him an atheist! And thus, his teachings, although the repetitions of the Upanishads in a different way, were made as a different religion altogether.

Buddhism flared up Jnana Marga and common sense once again in the country. But since it was dependent on one person – Gautama Buddha, after his demise, dilution occurred again. Slowly again people slipped into negative habits of fear. Even the followers of Buddhism began keeping Buddha’s idol and worshipping it! Adi Shankaracharya also revived the path of Jnana and resurrected the falling wisdom of the country. But Jnana Marga could not reach the same heights as in the Vedic periods. Because it could not reach the common masses very efficiently.

After several hundred years, came a genius solution to this swamp of negativity – Bhakti, Devotion. A big wave of devotion swept across the country. It is not that devotion was not heard of before. It was always there, even in the time of Vedic era, but not prominent. Jnana marga was the mostly sought after path. And later Bhakti was struggling to show up amidst fear. But now it became the most popular trend. Genuine devotees used idol worship itself to promote positivity instead of fear. They promoted love and devotion towards God and proved that even complete surrender will lead to the same goal as Self-enquiry of Jnana marga. Every village, every town in India was blessed with a realized devotee who popularized songs of devotion (Bhajans) which reached every common man of the country. All the knowledge database of the Samskrita shastras were now available as simple songs in local languages. Bhakti Marga poured soothing rains of devotion on the dry lands of money and power.

And thus, now in the 21^st century we are blessed with the best of both – Jnana and Bhakti. For some reason, Lakshmi is still dominant, but that is fine. Truth still triumphs. We have the teachings of both self-enquiry and self-surrender available at our doorstep. It is only that we are not making an effort to open the envelop and read the letters. How long will we postpone? It has to be realized one day or the other. Self-Realization is an inevitability. It cannot be escaped!

There are some news that Government of India is planning a mega-project to bring the river Saraswati back to its past glory. Perhaps it will also be the revival of the Jnana that dried up with that river? J

- इति स्वयंवाचित सरस्वती पुराण समाप्ता -

- Self-told Saraswati Purara Ends -

Phala Shruti (What you will get if you read this Purana): Whoever reads this Saraswati Purana everyday will be blessed with wealth, power and success!

Oh Sorry, the entire story is about knowledge and finally Phala shruti says "Wealth, power"! But this is how almost all Phala shrutis are written. Now you decide what gave rise to these Phala shrutis - Fear or Devotion? Greed or Love? J

The moral of this long story – The story taught me two things. Firstly, this is the story of Self-Realization itself. So, it taught me that Self-Realization is not vague and absurd. It is as true as my existence. If I exist, my realization also exists. The story put all the misunderstood concepts out in the open – the concept of religion, God, rituals etc. It also analyzed why and how fear sprouted, and why the dark ages of blind belief set in. The story made me feel free, free of all the clutches of negativity. Knowing negativity thoroughly is itself the dissolution of negativity.

Secondly, the story showed that we should not bother about the rise and fall. That keeps happening. Even with spirituality. ‘Cycle’ is the nature of nature. Nobody is the savior of anything. It is all only a drama, a dream. All the story of history is only your dream! You listen to some history in your dream, but is that real? Did all that happen? Or is it that you create it and listen to it? You are the only reality, not as the body, but as awareness. Everything in the dream keeps changing. But truth never dies, dreamer never dies. Death can die, but consciousness can never die! Dreamer always exists, and hence the question ‘Who Am I’ is inescapable, and hence the answer is also inescapable.

Wikipedia link to Saraswati River