ONE GOD ONE RELIGION PART 1-J: Knowledge of the Self - Core of Upanishadic Teaching

KNOWLEDGE OF THE SELF - CORE OF UPANISHADIC TEACHING

A great percentage of so-called Hindu Divine Scriptures is full of the description of the Self. These include the Upanishads as well. The subject of the Self is also of prime importance to Gita and Krishna has even called the knowledge of the Self as the highest science of all. What is most extraordinary is the fact that the same Upanishads which talk of the Self also talk of seven names or fourteen divine bodies as its constituents. 

Verse 1.2:4 of Mundaka Upanishad talks of the 7 and does not fail to state that one of them is a Devi. The very fact that one of the moving tongues of fire is a Devi, which has been wrongly translated as goddess by commentators, shows the remaining 6 must be Devas (or Devatas). We will show later in this BOOK that thse Divine Powers are indeed 7 in number but on numerous occasions they are mentioned as14. There is a reason for it and you will know soon. As you read you will also find that Manus too are 14 in number, and one of them is a Devi. Even in case of Manus, number 7 has been used at times, indicating that Manus and Devatas are one and the same. Yet commentators of Veda and Upanishad continue to see the 14 Manus as different from the Devatas, whose count is believed to be innumerable, countless and at times said to be in millions. 

If the Devatas are millions in number, what is the purpose of their creation? What is their relationship with God? And what is their relationship with us? What role do they have in this creation? Will the belief that the Devatas are millions in number amount to saying that when the Vedas or Gita are mentioning the word ‘Deva’, they are referring to millions of divinities whose purpose of creation is not known to us? We have seen the Vedic verse earlier which said:

O All-creating Deva please sweep away from us all sins, vices and miseries and grant us all that is beneficial and auspicious.

Does this mean to say that those millions of Devatas are being mentioned as all-creating? Does this mean that millions of Devatas created the rest of beings? Or does this mean that one of the innumerable Devatas is being referred to as ‘All-Creating’ who has the power to ‘sweep away from us all sins, vices and miseries and grant us all that is beneficial and auspicious’? If one of the innumerable Devatas is all-creating, what are the rest of them doing? We have mentioned in the beginning that we want the reasoning faculties of our readers open all the time. Only then will you realize the absurdities of the various notions that we have created, without any base. Once you realize that the present beliefs are based on absurd logics, room to try new theories will be created and only then will you be ready to give the newly-created theories a test of reasoning. 

Unable to find answer to such questions, some commentators of Vedas concluded that Devatas are not divinities and at all times the Vedas are only talking of one God. We will see later in this BOOK, how far this view is correct.

Let us return to the Mundaka Upanishad and see what it has to say:

I.2.4

The seven moving tongues of fire are the black, the terrific, the swift as mind, the very red, the very smoky-coloured, the spark blazing, the all-shaped (or all-tasting) goddess (original word in Sanskrit is Devi).

Since the translators have used the term ‘goddess’, we too have used the same term above. We must keep in mind that the original Sanskrit text says ‘Devi’ which has been wrongly translated as ‘goddess’ by commentators who couldn’t understand the true role and position of these Devatas. 

‘Seven moving tongues of fire’ are being talked about. One of them has been referred to as Devi. Logical conclusion is that the remaining six (of the seven) must be Devas. 

Next verse tells clearly that the Devas are very much the subject of discussion and we were not wrong in concluding, in the previous verse, if one is referred to as Devi, the remaining six must be Devas, who are the Light (Noor) or fire with power over all things in the universe. The succeeding verse also categorically states that there would be a time when these seven tongues, of whom one is a Devi, would come to shine on this earth, like the various rays of the sun. It is stated this would happen at an appropriate time. The verse talks of ‘performing work’ and ‘making offerings’ when these Devatas would come on earth, thus making it explicitly clear that it will be our duty to perform certain works for them and make offerings to these Devatas, when they would come on earth. Interestingly, there is also a passage in Brhad-aranyaka Upanishad, which says that there were people who, when on their death-bed, used to lament to their sons that they (the Devatas) didn’t come in their lifetime so that they could have helped them in their works. These people willed their sons to be on the side of the Devatas, if they came during the lifetime of their sons. 

Read what I.2.5 of Mundaka Upanishad says:

Whosoever performs works, makes offerings, when these are shining and at the proper time, these in the form of the rays of the sun lead him to that where the one lord of the gods (read Devatas) abide.

We hope these verses leave no room for doubt that there was a time when the Indo-Aryans were waiting for the arrival of the Devatas. In this BOOK, we will give innumerable examples from Upanishads, Vedas, Puranas and Gita to confirm this view. Whether they came later or not cannot be said precisely at this point of our study but it is clear that the Devatas had not made an appearance till the time the Vedas, the Upanishads and even Gita were composed. We can say this with surety because we will find (when we study the Gita in detail) that even it is talking of a time when the Devatas would come.

There is one more point that is clear from the aforementioned verse of Mundaka Upanishad. The Devatas are not gods as has been wrongly concluded or translated. It is clearly said that if somebody performs works (karmas) and make offerings to the Devatas when they come to shine, at a proper time, then these Devatas would lead the person to where the one Lord of the Devatas abide. The Devatas may be many (we are yet to conclude how many they are) but their Lord is truly one. That Lord is the One God and not the Devatas (who are translated and believed to be gods). Even so if they have the power to create, and to wipe off our sins, vices and miseries, and even if they have the power to grant us all that is beneficial and auspicious (as has been said in the Vedic verse quoted above), they are not gods; they are subservient to only One God of the cosmos. 

This leads us to one more conclusion, which is contrary to the surmise given by commentators like Rishi Dayanand Saraswati who refutes Devatas have any identity and in his commentary tries to prove that the Vedas are only talking of One God. In Part-III of this BOOK, we will show from his own commentary of Vedas that he is grossly in the dark about the identity of the Devatas. In fact, he has erred in deriving his conclusions.

Truth is that wherever one or the other Devatas are mentioned in the Vedas, it is not reference to God but the Devatas seem to be powerful agents of God who act on behalf of God in His Creation. This means (and we will see later) that God cannot be found in the Vedas at the expense of Devatas (as Rishi Dayanand Saraswati has done) but God is very much the creator of these Devatas themselves. 

Verse 1.2.6 of Mundaka Upanishad again shows clearly that the Devatas (six Devas and one Devi) had not come by then; they would come to shine at a proper time, and through ritual offerings the aim was to invite them to come. This is not the translation done by us but by Dr. Radhakrishnan, a great scholar of Sanskrit. Read the verse and you will find that a sacrificer is praying to the Devatas so that they come and show the path to Brahma’s Heaven. Does this not indicate that the path that leads to a permanent stay in Brahma’s Heaven is inevitably linked with the Devatas? As you read further, you will find that even Gita has talked of Devatas and has even related going to heaven to these Devatas. Gita, however, has used the term Indra’s Heaven, and has also referred to Brahma on other occasions, thereby confirming a link between Brahma and the Deva Indra.

See I.2.6 of Mundaka Upanishad:

The radiant offerings invite him with the words, ‘come, come,’ and carry the sacrificer by the rays of the sun, honouring him and saluting him with pleasing words: ‘This is your holy world of Brahma won through good deeds.’

The words are clear! The purpose of radiant offerings and rituals is to invoke the Devatas to come in this world. As time passed, people forgot the purpose of these offerings and sacrifices but continued to perform them without knowing their true purport. Whether this happened during the 1000 years, when Buddhism reigned supreme, or earlier, cannot be said with certainty.

Verse 8 of Mundaka tells clearly that those who consider themselves as wise but are ignorant of this knowledge, related to the role of the Devatas in salvation and subsequent permanent stay in Brahma’s Heaven, are blind.

I.2.8

Abiding in the midst of ignorance, wise in their own esteem, thinking themselves to be learned, fools, afflicted with troubles, go about like blind men led by one who is himself blind.

I.2.9

The immature, living manifoldly in ignorance, think ‘we have accomplished our aim.’ Since those who perform rituals do not understand (these 7 moving tongues of fire) because of attachment, therefore they sink down, wretched when their worlds (i.e. the fruits of their merits) are exhausted.

Isn’t the aforementioned verse again stating that it is not possible to ‘accomplish one’s spiritual aim’ without recognizing these seven Devatas? People who are not able to recognize these seven moving tongues of light or fire are described as wretched, immature and ignorant. They have been described as ‘learned fools’ and as ‘blind men led by one who is himself blind.’  Those who perform rituals without knowing their true purpose are condemned. Are our knowledgeable scholars aware of any explanation about the identity of the seven?

The subsequent verse of Mundaka even goes on to say that salvation (permanent stay in heavens) is not possible without the knowledge of the identity of ‘seven moving tongues of fire’ out of which one is a Devi. Mere good deeds are not enough. Even if one goes to heaven because of good deeds, the soul will return again in this world, either as human being or in a lower birth, once the rewards of the good actions are bestowed upon him in the heavens. 

I.2.10

These deluded men, regarding sacrifices and works of merits as most important, do not know any other good. Having enjoyed in the high place of heaven won by good deeds, they enter again this world or a still lower one.

Those who perform righteous acts without the knowledge of those who have been created as the torchbearers to Brahma’s Heaven may get temporary rewards after death but eventually they will have to come back to earth, more likely in a lower state. See how sacrifices and works of merits too would not serve any purpose, and salvation (moksha) won’t be achieved, if those who are to show the path to salvation are not identified. 

Scholars of Sanskrit need to tell what that knowledge is? Is identifying the Devatas so important that salvation is denied to one who is unable to identify them? What relation these Devatas have with Brahma? What relation these Devatas have with Paramatma? Who is Paramatma (Manifest Self)? Is Paramatma God Itself or Paramatma has some relation with God? Do we know the answers? No! We do not have answers to certain knowledge which is so important that without this knowledge even salvation is denied. Let us find the answers!

You will be interested to note that Gita too has talked of the same subject, and in greater detail. You will find that Gita too has equated permanent bliss or salvation with certain knowledge and certain level of purity of self, which can be attained through good deeds performed while keeping the remembrance of God and having knowledge about His Creation Plan. What is important is that Gita too stresses on having this knowledge. Ponder for a moment! Are we suitably prepared for salvation? Have we identified the divine torchbearers to the path of salvation till now? Have we deviated so much from the Straight Path that we do not possess the information which is so vital for our eternal well-being?

Let’s move ahead to give you still more examples. 

In Svetasvatara Upanishad, sage Svetasvatara gives the cause of our creation as something else than the Brahman (God). Brahman created the devatma-sakti (the power of the combined self of Devatas). This has been mentioned by none else than Dr. Radhakrishnan. The devatma-sakti worshipped the Lord with great intensity.  Pleased with its worship and when the devatma-sakti desired there be more worshippers, the God gave this devatma-sakti the power to create further. The 7 Devatas who comprise this devatma sakti govern our lives and bodies. It can henceforth be inferred that the cause of further creation by the devatma-sakti was to worship the Brahman (Absolute God) – Qadir-e-Mutlaq or the One God of the universe. 

Svetasvatara Upanishad refers to this devatma-sakti (self-power) as the cause of this universe, and goes on to say in verse I.4 that the rope of this devatma-sakti is manifold (as it comprises of 7 Devatas who are described as rulers of our organs of senses and action. At one place 7&7 is mentioned, indicating 14, and the Devatas are described as the rulers of the 14 spheres). 

In this Upanishad, Sage Svetasvatara is asked the question, “What is the cause? Brahman? Whence are we born? By what do we live? And on what are we established?” Svetasvatara replies that the cause is the devatma-sakti, which is presided by the Brahman (God), thereby confirming that Brahman (God) is not involved in the day-to-day affairs of the running of this world. All these affairs, including life and death, creation and destruction, and sending of the Messengers to lead us to the worship of Absolute God are in the hands of the devatma-shakti; and the Devatas are agents of this devatma-sakti.

Truth is that when you use the term devatma-sakti you refer to these 7 or 14 agents of devatma-sakti viz. the Devas and Devi (together referred to as Manus), express purpose of all of them is that their creator - the Absolute God or Brahman - alone be worshipped. As per the Upanishads, devatma-sakti is the One Noor or Power created by Paramatma (Manifest Self of God), which became manifold. The devatma-sakti frames the rules, devises the punishments and shows the path to attain union with the Creator. This is the view of all Divine Scriptures and we will give conclusive evidence all through in the BOOK to support our argument and find who these Devatas are, what is their role in this cosmos and what relation they have with us. 

We will also find what that shortest and straightest path to reach God is! After all, if there is One God, how can there be so many paths that lead to Him? In the course, you will also conclude that there is one and only one path to reach God and all the deviations from that path were named religions by the adamant, often ignorant, pursuants of the path. Is it not our duty to identify what that path is?

Sage Svetasvatara says in the Svetasvatara Upanishad: 

O ye who know Brahman, presided over by whom do we live our different conditions in pleasures and other than pleasures (pains).

Now see the succeeding verses in succession:

I.2

Time, inherent nature, necessity, chance, the (five) elements, the womb or the person be considered as the cause? It cannot be a combination of these because of the existence of the soul. Even the soul is powerless in respect of the cause of pleasure and pain.

I.3

Those who followed after meditation and contemplation saw the (devatma-sakti) self-power of the Divine hidden in its own qualities. He is the one who rules over all these causes from time to the soul.

I.4

Him (the self-power), whose one rope is manifold. 

See how clearly this Upanishad states that the self-power (devatma-sakti) created by Brahman (the God) is one that moves this universe. It is stated that the self-power is manifold, thereby confirming that the Devas and one Devi comprise this self-power. The word used is ‘rope’. Just as a ‘rope’ is made through uniting several similar ropes, the power of the Devatas, when combined, form the devatma-sakti. 

Various things which may be seen responsible for birth are talked about. Birth cannot happen without the presence of a person or the presence of a female womb. The elements too are important, about which we will know more as we move ahead. Chance, necessity, nature and time too could be responsible. But no! The devatma-sakti (self power of God), whose one rope is manifold, is responsible. Chance, necessity, nature and time have been described as causes and it is the devatma-sakti (Manifest Self) which rules over them. 

This make us come to a very important observation. But before we talk of it, read this verse from Brhad-aranyaka Upanishad which says:

II.4.6

The Brahmana ignores one who knows him as different from the Self.

The subject of Self is being talked about. Do we know what Manifest Self is?

Upanishads elaborately describe the Divine Creation Plan as per which the Absolute God who is formless, omnipotent, all-pervading and omnipresent created a Manifest Self [Vishnu], which has been described as minuter than the atom [Manifest Self means a visible power (saakar) from the previous nirakar (formless)]. Manifest Self, at places, has been described as a Golden Light and hence we conclude it is in the form of Noor or Light. It has also been described as a Divine Spirit and this made us conclude it is also in the form of Spirit and hence called Paramatma (Supreme Spirit). Upanishads describe that a Noor or Light emanated from the Manifest Self which was called the devatma-sakti [Brahma]. This Noor or Light became manifold (by multiple divisions; the process too is described in the Upanishads) and hence is called as rope, thereby signifying that Devatas (created from Light) are several in number. Upanishads (you will see here) have also elaborately described how this One Noor (devatma-sakti) became manifold. 

And at another place, it is said:

III.8.10

Whoever, O Gargi, in this world, without knowing this Imperishable performs sacrifices, worships, performs austerities for a thousand years, his work will have no end; whosoever O Gargi, without knowledge of this Imperishable departs from this world, is pitiable. But, O Gargi, he who knowing the Imperishable departs from this world is a Brahmana.’

The term Imperishable has been used for the Absolute God. A brahmin  has been described as a person who knows the Imperishable. Salvation is only for a person who knows this Imperishable; there is no salvation for a person who doesn’t know the Imperishable even though he keeps performing sacrifices, worships and austerities for a thousand year.  In fact, his condition is described as pitiable.

Thus we find that the purpose of the rope (devatma-sakti) is to lead us to the Imperishable; rope serves as a connection between two entities. Devatma-sakti, which is manifold, serves as a rope between man and the Imperishable; it guides and leads the man towards the path of salvation.

Let us revise! You have seen that the Svetasvatara Upanishad describes the devatma-sakti or self-power as manifold. It compares manifold power with a rope. Also, the importance of cognizing the role of this devatma-sakti in salvation has been highlighted. Devatma-sakti is actually the One Noor or Light created by the Manifest Self of God [Paramatma/Vishnu]. Brhad-aranyaka Upanishad clearly says that a true brahmin is one who departs while knowing the Imperishable (Absolute God or Brahman). In order to attain salvation, it is essential to reach the Imperishable Absolute God through identifying the devatma-sakti (which is the rope between man and God). 

Devatma-sakti has been described as manifold. You have also seen the Mundaka Upanishad says that seven fires are to be identified, one of which is a Devi, and thereby leading us to conclusion that devatma-sakti comprises several Devas and one Devi. It is the Devatas who form the manifold power of the Imperishable, through whom one can reach the Absolute and thus attain salvation. 

If you are not able to accept the argument presented by us so far, just take it as theory and you will find that the entire content of Upanishads, the Vedas, the Gita and even other scriptures, including the teachings of Buddha, the Old Testament and the Quran only confirms our surmise as true. 

If we read the various Upanishads, we find that the subject of rope has been repeatedly talked about. The importance of the knowledge of this rope, the need to identify it (and its manifold constituents), its relation with us and with the Manifest Self and then with the Imperishable Absolute God is often discussed and the knowledge of this manifold rope to reach the Absolute God has been made prerequisite for attaining salvation (moksha). 

The great stress which the Upanishads have given on the subject has led us to conclude that the sacred thread that Brahmins began to tie on their bodies was in remembrance of this devatma-sakti, referred to as rope, that leads us to the Imperishable and the knowledge of which is essential for salvation. This thread, which is worn inside the clothing, was expected to remind them time and again that their purpose in life is to identify this manifold rope of God which leads to the Imperishable and which is the path to salvation. Unfortunately, they continued tying the thread, yet forgot the purpose.

Earlier we have quoted from Maitri Upanishad which talks of ‘hindrances to knowledge’ and says that “the world bewildered by doctrines that deny the self, by false comparisons and proofs does not discern the difference between wisdom and knowledge.” If certain knowledge is so vital for our well-being (salvation), our enemy (the satanic forces) would spend its greatest energy on making it difficult for us to understand. The truth-knowing brahmins of those times started wearing a thread inside their clothing so they never forget that the ultimate aim of life is to gain knowledge of the rope (and its manifold constituents) and lead their self (atma) to attain union with Manifest Self (Paramatma); thus reach the Absolute God [Brahman] and gain salvation. The very fact that the rope was worn inside shows that the enemy (the Satanic forces) were at all times bent on destroying this knowledge. History is witness that there were periods when the brahmins  underwent such bad times when it was not possible to pass on this knowledge to the next generation through mouth to mouth. 

After saying (in I.4) that the devatma-sakti (self power of the Divine) is one which rules over all the causes of our birth and further saying that the rope of this self-power is manifold, Svetasvatara Upanishad (in verse I.5) goes on to describe further the manifold constituents of the rope of the devatma-sakti (One Noor created by the Manifest Self of God). 

See what Sage Svetasvatara has to say:

I.5

We meditate on him as a river of five streams, from five sources, fierce and crooked, whose waves are the five vital breaths, whose original source is the five-fold perception, with five whirlpools, an impetuous flood of five pains, divided into fifty kinds with five branches.

I.6

In this vast Brahma-wheel, which enlivens all things in which all rest, the soul flutters about thinking that the Self in him and the Mover are different. Then, when blessed by him, he gains life eternal.

After explicitly saying that the self-power (devatma-sakti) created by Brahman (the Absolute God) is one that moves this universe, it is stated that the self-power is manifold, thereby confirming that the Devas and one Devi comprise the rope which is manifold. In the next verse, this rope is being compared to a river of 5 streams, which together comprise the Life (Prana). Everything in the universe has life because of it. A little later, we will quote from another Upanishad which describes Life (Prana) and there too you will see that 5 components of Life are described and later 9 more to make it 14. Just as a rope comprises of several ropes, each of which has similar attributes and may have further sub-ropes, similarly, 5 Devatas comprise the 5 streams, and from them emanate the 9 sub-streams. The five-fold character has also been compared to Brahma-wheel [thus confirming devatma-sakti is same as Brahma] and this knowledge has been equated with salvation (life eternal), from where there is no coming back. 

Clearly, the 5 streams are not the 5 basic elements. Whoever the streams are, they together form the river (devatma-sakti), and through these streams the soul reaches the river i.e. the Manifest Self, it gets blessed by God and gains life eternal, that means to say that the person becomes one with God and attains salvation. 

Gita too confirms this when it says that only such a person attains to wisdom and becomes one with God. The same is being said in the verse that follows:

I.7

This has been sung as the supreme Brahman and in it is the triad. It is the firm support, the imperishable. The knowers of Brahman by knowing what is there in become merged in Brahman, intent thereon and freed from birth.

Triad is being talked about. We know that Christians too talk of a concept of triad or trinity. Christian trinity constitutes God, the Holy Spirit and Jesus. But the Triad being talked about appears to be different. It talks of Supreme Brahman (Absolute God), Manifest Self (Paramatma or Holy Spirit) and the devatma-sakti (Brahma). Thus we find that the difference between Christian Triad and Upanishadic Triad is that while the Christian Triad has Jesus as the third component, the Upanishadic Triad has devatma-sakti as the third component. 

We know that devatma-sakti comprise of Devatas [Devas and a Devi]. Interestingly, we have seen from Mundaka Upanishad that people were waiting for the Devatas to arrive on this earth. The very fact that role of devatma-sakti has been linked to salvation too proves that the Devatas will arrive on this earth in person, because unless they do so, they will not get connected with man (as we are showing that devatma-sakti is the rope between man and God). 

This brings the Triad of Upanishads very close to the Triad of Christians with the difference that while the Christians believe that God, Holy Spirit and Jesus form the Triad, thus discounting any other Avatar, the Upanishadic concept of Triad include the Absolute God, Paramatma (Manifest Self or Supreme Spirit) and devatma-sakti, which is manifold (there being 6 Devas and one Devi) and whose constituents (one or other of Devas or Devi) keep descending in pious bodies on earth, at various places and times, to lead mankind and show them the path to reach the Absolute and thereby attain salvation. 

Thus, the Noor or Light because of which they are called the Devatas is in two forms (mutable, when the Noor descends in human bodies and immutable, in their Noor or Light state). The Devatas (in their mutable and immutable state), the Manifest and the Unmanifest thus constitute the Triad (the same is being said in the succeeding verse of Svetasvatara Upanishad, thereby removing any doubt if it remained). 

I.8

The Lord supports all this which is a combination of the mutable and the immutable, the manifest and the unmanifest. And the soul, not being the Lord, is bound because of his being an enjoyer. By knowing God is freed from all fetters.

It is stated clearly that upon understanding this Divine Creation Plan, the soul gets freed from all doubts and fetters and attain salvation. 

This explicitly says that all animate and non-animate beings are supported by a combination of the manifest and the unmanifest, mutable and the immutable. This is the true definition of triad from a Sanatan scripture. The Non-Manifest (Nirakar) created a Manifest Self (Saakar) and bestowed a great deal of His powers, characteristics and attributes on the Manifest. The Noor that emanated from the Manifest is known as devatma-sakti, which is manifold and which is also both mutable and immutable. Mutable and immutable can be understood by the fact that while the Devatas are created from Light or Noor and are responsible for all the creation, there will be time when the Noor of these Devatas will descend on earth, in human bodies, to show us the true path to worship the Non-Manifest Absolute God and attain salvation. This is the true concept of Triad. This Triad supports all living and non-living things in the cosmos. It is this Triad which is imperishable. Those who elevate themselves and attain union with this Triad themselves become imperishable. They become merged in Brahman [Non-Manifest Absolute God] and get freed from rebirth. 

Sage Svetasvatara further elaborates on his description:

I.9

There are two unborn ones, the knowing and the unknowing, the all-powerful, the other powerless. Indeed there is one who is unborn, connected with the enjoyer and the objects of enjoyment. And there is the infinite self, of universal form, non-active. When one finds out this triad, that is Brahman. 

The same concept of the mutable and the immutable described above is talked about here in another manner. Devatas have two roles: the knowing and the unknowing. As divinities in their Light or Noor state, they have been given all the knowledge and power. But when the same Devatas take birth in human bodies, they are described as powerless and unknowing. Upon taking birth as human beings they become connected with the enjoyer and the objects of enjoyment. In their human state, they are the unknowing and powerless.

The Devatas - be it in their heavenly state or in the state when their Noor or Light descends in human bodies on earth - together comprise the devatma-sakti created by the Manifest Self. In their birth on earth as humans, these Devatas will be prone to all physical pains and pleasures and hence it is said: “connected with the enjoyer and the objects of enjoyment.” Those who have doubts regarding the Devatas being imperishable and eternal should read the Puranas, some of which mention the various names by which these Devatas were known in previous creations. A Purana states that this is the 994th manvantara (when a new Adam is born) and in all previous manvantaras, the same Devatas were the torchbearers and guides. 

In Part-II, we will reveal to you the identity of the Devatas when they came to live on this earth. We will give several examples from their life to prove that they, in their heavenly state, were eternal and imperishable. Moreover, even when they took birth as humans, they were the best in knowledge, including the knowledge of the future and knowledge of the invisible, best in intellect and wisdom, the most strong among all humans and showed innumerable miracles that astound our minds and senses. We wish you to ponder for a while; if the unknowing Devatas (those who have taken birth in human form) could possess such extraordinary powers, what would be the level of the powers bestowed on the Devatas, in their heavenly or powerful state. 

Svetasvatara Upanishad says in clear words that salvation is not possible without cognizing the role of this triad, which creates a link between God and man through the Manifest Self and then the devatma-sakti comprising of Devatas, who are both immutable and mutable. 

You will be interested to know that the concept of triad has been propagated by nearly all Prophets of God, prior to Mohammad. The Christians wrongly concluded that it meant God, Spirit and Jesus as the Son of God. Scholars like Ramanuja gave their doctrine of triune unity, based on widespread description of Triad in the Upanishads. It is unfortunate that the adherents to the teachings of various religions interpreted the Triad differently. The Muslim scholars denied the concept of triad vehemently because of the wrong interpretations done by the Christians. The true meaning of triad is only being unearthed in this BOOK and nowhere else. 

If certain books ascribed to the Muslims refute the concept of Triad, it is because of the understanding given to the concept by the Christians. It is owing to this that the Muslim scholars criticize the concept of Triad tooth and nail. Says a Muslim scholar: 

“A great deal of metaphysical nonsense, based on conjecture and speculation, is put forward by the Christians in support of their claim, yet they themselves do not understand the doctrine of divinity of Jesus, which they take as true without examination or proof. Moreover, there is no consensus among their theologians. The most popular belief is triune, three in one, or a trinity in unity-God is a spiritual organism, having living components which can be called organs only so long as they remain united and interrelated to each other in the whole, therefore, God is one but has components which perform separate functions. Jesus has a mysterious double nature which makes him a member of the trinity.”

See how the Muslim commentators have criticized the idea of trinity. We are of the opinion that the idea existed right from the time of Adam and continued to be put forward by the various Prophets. However, people understood it differently. 

As you proceed, we will give sufficient proofs to show that the Triad or Trinity do exist and if Muslims formed such a negative view about this concept, it was because of its wrong understanding by Christians. Muslims will have to understand this concept if they wish to understand the Holy Quran truly.

We invite you to go back and read what is said in the Upanishad. We are sure you will realize that for the parent, a child’s birth itself is not the end objective. Work continues even after the birth. Child has to be fed. He has to be taught and moulded for a better life. At times, he is scolded and punished. At times, he is given medicines, at times injected with vaccines, which could be a bit painful. If a disease strikes, sometimes the same parent would take the child for an operation or even amputation. You have no right to say that the parent does not care, if the child feels a bit of pain when given injections or more when he goes through a corrective surgery or amputation. The job of the parent didn’t end with giving birth.

It is sorrowful that we do not believe the same in the case of God. If He created, He even created provisions for sustenance and growth. All creation owes its origin to the Absolute God, even though the God Himself, through his maya, made all creations dependent on the Devatas. God bestowed such powers on the Devatas that it is they who control life and death, it is they who are responsible for sustenance and growth of mankind, it is they who show the Path to God and it is they who send floods, quakes and Tsunamis when the society needs operations or corrective surgeries. They are the heart that not only controls the supply of blood but are also responsible for internal purification. Messengers/Avatars were sent sometimes to supply the nutrients and vitamins that were most needed. What’s more, the power supply of all life is due to the Devatas, so much so that the entire creation will perish once the physical life of the last of the Devatas – Mahdi or the Kalki Avatar - comes to an end.

The institutions of God have been working since even prior to our creation. In fact we owe our creation to them. It is God who has created these institutions and we are none to deny or seek justification. Our job is to cognize them and accept them, in case we wish to be treated as obedient subordinates of the Creator’s empire. In the belief of this Triad itself lies our salvation and eternal bliss.

I.10

What is perishable is the pradhana. What is immortal and imperishable is Hara. Over both the perishable and the soul the one God rules. By meditating on Him, by uniting with Him, by reflecting on His being more and more, there is complete cessation from the illusion of the world. 

Devatas have a perishable body when they take birth in human form and they are imperishable in their Light state. The God rules over the perishable form of theirs when the Noor will descend in human bodies on this earth and also over the imperishable state of their soul in heaven. This is the only path or rope to get united with the God. By reflecting on this more and more, one gets complete cessation from the illusions of the world. When such is the effect on us that we gain cessation from the illusions of the world upon gaining this knowledge regarding the divinities, then these Divine Beings, when they would come to live in this earth, must be totally aloof from succumbing to the illusions of the world. When you read Part-II, you will realize the extent they were removed from this world and yet they cared for all beings living in this world more than any of us would ever do. Their entire lives were spent in the worship and supplication of God and they gave the greatest of sacrifices, inflicted on them by mankind, yet never divulged from the path that they had come to show.  

I.11

By knowing God there is a falling off all fetters; when the sufferings are destroyed, there is cessation of birth and death. By meditating on Him, there is the third state; on the dissolution of the body, universal lordship; being alone, his desire is fulfilled.

The purpose of these Devatas is to lead us to God. Since various Upanishads like Paingala Upanishad confirm that the Devatas were created from the pure (sattvik) essence of Vishnu (the Manifest Self), the salient purpose of the spirit in a human body is to identity the devatma-sakti within itself or outside as Messengers/Avatars and use it as a rope to reach the Absolute. Reaching God through this path ensures salvation i.e. freedom from life and death.  

The purpose of our creation is to tread on the path shown by the Devatas, so as to attain union with the God. This could only be possible by single-minded devotion and worship of the God. Those who are unable to do this and fall to the material attractions around them, their self (spirit) becomes impure and hence is unable to unite with the Paramatma (the Chief Self or the Divine Manifest Self), at the time of death. Such a self needs to take birth again and again, through different wombs depending on the state of the self at the time of the physical death of the body. This process continues till the self becomes capable of attaining salvation or till God decides it is time to end this creation.   

What we are saying is not exactly what the present day Hindu commentators and scholars believe. Yet we are only explaining what the Upanishads, translated by great scholars like Dr. Radhakrishnan, are saying. If you read our commentary of Gita, you will find Gita too is endorsing the same view. 

The Devatas ceaselessly try to lead us to God and won’t be satisfied until all the souls attain unity with God. This is the desire that Devatas are ceaselessly trying to fulfill and in order to do this, they even take birth in human form, live life of hardships, even give sacrifices of their happiness as well as life, but continue working to achieve their objective. The one who is referred to as Kalki Avatar in Vishnu Purana and elsewhere, or the last of the Devatas, would surely achieve that goal. Presently, it is our duty that we live our life in such a manner that we give these Devatas reason to be pleased with us.

From this, we conclude that the various Prophets and Messengers who were sent on this earth were appointed by the Manifest Self of God, widely known as Paramatma. All Messengers reiterated the same teachings, albeit in more refined form than the predecessor. Even Buddha said that his teaching was only a restatement of the four ancient truths, cat vari arya-satyani. (Read more about the teachings of Buddha in Part-IV of this BOOK.) In our commentary of Gita, you will also see how Krishna, contrary to popular belief, only confirmed what Rama had said before, and they both confirmed what was present in the Vedas. Similarly Messengers/Avatars came other parts of the world as well, that is why we find reference of these Devatas in ancient Greek, Roman and Egyptian scriptures and even in those of the Red Indians of America. This process of restating these eternal truths, as described by Buddha, continued all through history, through the mouths of various Avatars/Messengers.

Svetasvatara Upanishad further says:

I.12

That Eternal which rests in the self should be known Truly. There is nothing beyond this to be known by knowing the enjoyer, the object of enjoyment and the mover; everything has been said. This is the Threefold Brahman.

This also says that the ultimate aim is to know the Eternal God. Devatma-sakti as referred by Radhakrishnan ceaselessly works to attain that objective, whether in Devata state or present on earth as human beings. Everything has been said and there is nothing that is to be said apart from this relationship of ours with the Absolute Brahman through the path shown by the Devatas when they come to live on earth and through the help of Divine Self (the devatma-sakti). This alone is the Threefold Brahman – the Triad.

I.13

As the form of fire when latent in its source is not seen and yet its seed is not destroyed, but may be seized again and again in its source by means of the drill, so it is in both cases. The self has to be seized in the body by means of the syllable Aum. 

The syllable Aum helps in understanding our relationship with Divine Creation Plan. This is the reason why many Hindus recite the syllable countless times. That merely uttering a word would lead us to such a state; it would be naïve to think so! Salvation cannot be attained unless we know the meaning of Aum truly. We will see later in the BOOK how Aum too is related to the flight of our self towards attaining unity with God, but through a bird composed of fourteen Devatas, one of whom is a Devi. The vowels of Aum signify the five Devatas, who were created from the One Self called Life or Prana, and the ardh-matra signify the 9 Devatas, all together comprise Prana or Life. 

I.14

As oil in sesamum seeds, as butter in cream, as water in riverbeds, as fire in friction sticks, so is the Self seized in one’s own soul if one looks for Him with truthfulness and austerity.

If we look for the Self through the help of Aum, signifying the 7 or 14 Devatas, we will know that it is present in our souls itself. But truthfulness, austerity and sincere effort are pre-requisite without which it is not possible to realize one’s self and attain unity with God.

All through Gita, you will find when you read our commentary, Krishna has stressed on the need to align one’s self with the Manifest Self. The organs of action and senses are to be given under the control of the Devatas and all actions are performed for God, without seeking any returns. Such a person eventually attains salvation.

I.16

The Self which pervades all things as butter is contained in milk, which is the root of self-knowledge and austerity, that is the Brahman, the highest mystic doctrine. That is the highest mystic doctrine.  

The devatma-sakti of the Self may have 7 or 14 constituents, but the root of all knowledge leads us to Brahman [God]. It is Brahman alone who is present in all of us as butter is so uniformly present in milk. Recognizing this relationship of our self with the Brahman is the root of self-knowledge and austerity. Once we recognize this relationship, we will be left with no choice but to recognize the Devatas and Manifest Self, who are intermediaries between man and God. 

Verse 14 of Chapter II of Svetasvatara describes further the condition of a person when he attains this unity and says that ultimate aim is to know God, who pervades all things, who is everywhere. Devatas are only the agents who lead us to the worship of God. 

It says:

Even as a mirror stained by dust shines brightly when it has been cleaned, so the embodied one when he has seen the nature of the self becomes integrated, of fulfilled purpose and freed from sorrow.

II.15

When by means of the nature of his self he sees as by a lamp here the nature of Brahman, by knowing God who is unborn, steadfast, free from all natures, he is released from all fetters. 

II.16

He indeed, is the God who pervades all regions, He is the first-born and he is within the womb. He has been born and he will be born. He stands opposite all persons, having his face in all directions.

II.17 

The God who is in fire, who is in water, who has entered into the whole world, who is in plants, who is in trees, to that God be adoration, yea, be adoration.

After talking about the God, the subject again returns to Devatas in the third chapter of Svetasvatara Upanishad. Here it is explicitly stated that Rudra (Siva) is the great seer, and source and origin of all the Devatas, the one who gave birth to the golden germ. It is he who rules all these words with his ruling powers, he is the protector, and it is he who after creating all worlds withdraws them at the end of time. 

See what III.1-2 says:

The one who spreads the net, who rules with his ruling powers, who rules all the world with his ruling powers, who remains one, while arise and continue to exist, they who know that become immortal.

You had seen, while reading about the triune that the Devatas in heaven were given power and knowledge. The extent to which they have been empowered can be seen from the aforementioned verses. It is Rudra (the head of Devatas) who has spread this net of creation and who rules over all the worlds, who is the protector, after creation, and who it will be who will withdraw the creation towards the end. 

Isn’t it clear now? Be it Tsunami, hurricane or a quake – it is Rudra who can save us from it. It is Rudra who needs to be identified and known. If we won’t do so, the day is not far when he may withdraw the creation. But we must remember: Rudra is not God. He is the head of the Devatas, he is part of the devatma-sakti [Brahma] created by Vishnu [the Manifest Self] of the Absolute God. 

Consequent to showering praises on Rudra, the Upanishad talks of all the Devatas in the succeeding verse. These Devatas have been compared to a tree, established in heaven, from whom the whole universe is filled. These, described as Person, or one entity who is beyond this world, are without form and without suffering. Those who know that become immortal, but others go only to sorrow, it is said.

See III.4 talks of Rudra again and cites his relationship with all the rest of Devatas:

He who is the source and origin of devas (powers), the ruler of all, Rudra, the great seer, who of old gave birth to the golden germ. (Hiranya-garbha), may he endow us with clear understanding. 

Prayer to Rudra is being made. It is he who is the great seer. (Even Gita has referred to the 7 great seers). He created the golden germ (refer to Brhad-aranyaka and Paingala Upanishads to read more on this) and it is through him that all the Devatas and consequently all the beings originated. If due to such stress on the role of this Deva in the creation of the cosmos, some people erroneously took to the worship of the phallus, we should not be surprised. You will be surprised to know that there was a time when phallus was being worshipped not only in India, but in Mesopotamia, China and Japan, Greece and Rome, Egypt, Australia and America.

In the aforementioned verse, Rudra is also invoked for a clear understanding so that all the obstacles in recognizing him and his true position get removed. Once we are able to do so, we will also realize the importance of other Devatas, upon cognizing whose true identity and gaining knowledge about their true position, the path to immortality will be become clear and reachable. 

......................................................................................

Have some of the mysteries been solved? Not likely! But you must surely have come to conclusion that there is still a great deal of knowledge we need to acquire. In fact, we know nothing about the identity of the Devatas, the identity of the Manus, their inter-relationship, the identity of Rudra (the chief of Devatas), the relationship of Devatas with the devatma-sakti created by the Manifest Self (Sakaar or Paramatma) and how and why the Manifest Self (Paramatma) was created by the Nirakar Absolute God. It is often said that humanity evolved from the five elements, but we do not know anything about this evolution, neither do we know the difference when these 5 elements are also referred to as 7 in certain Upanishads. You have already seen till now that sometimes the number 5 is being talked about, sometimes number 7 is being talked about and sometimes 14 is mentioned. We also know nothing about their inter-relationship. You will have to remain with us with open reasoning faculties and if you do so, you will find all mysteries will vanish and truth will glare at us like a thousand shining suns. 

Let us take up the issues one by one, until we reach the stage where some of the most startling conclusions will be presented. Be prepared to accept the truth, as it is. 

ONE GOD ONE RELIGION PART 1-I: Deviations and Steadfastness

DEVIATIONS AND STEADFASTNESS

We salute those who steadfastly remained on the true path, in the midst of all the hardships and unfavourable circumstances. The house of Pandavas was set on fire, Draupadi was insulted and the sons of Pandavas were killed in a night-attack. Yet the Pandavas remained on the right path – the path of Krishna. When we read of the victory of Krishna and Rama, we forget that several pious men must have surely died to uphold truth and justice alongside their leader. The Puranas too mention few accounts of torture and killing that the adherents of the true path had to undergo. Known for their biased penchant for writing the history of the kings, historians have not mentioned how many people were killed holding Vedas to their heart when Ashoka went about converting them. We also do not know how many scholars perished in floods, earthquakes, droughts, famines and Tsunamis. Neither do we know how many Prahladas sacrificed their lives at the hands of infuriated sages or kings, because of their religious views or activities. All such people must have surely got the rewards for their steadfastness and piety at the hands of One who gives the best rewards.

By now you must have surely realized that our present understanding of the sacred scriptures is not perfect and there is still some room for deeper study. If this study is done keeping our reasoning faculties open, we will surely reach more startling conclusions. From here on, we are commencing the study of Upanishads, Vedas and Gita and invite you to join us in this study, keeping your reason and intelligence open and shedding all ego, anger, lust and personal benefits at bay.

ONE GOD ONE RELIGION PART 1-H: Gita and Mahabharata Written with Different Intent

GITA AND MAHABHARATA WRITTEN WITH DIFFERENT INTENT

We all know that Bhagavada Gita and Mahabharata do not have the same authorship. This is in spite of the fact that Gita occupies a portion of the epic, Mahabharata. While Gita is surely a divine text, Mahabharata is a grand poem written by a human being like you and us. The poem Mahabharata was separate from Gita till several centuries and it was only later that Gita was inserted into the text of Mahabharata. Several scholars and historians agree on this. Whether this was done to increase the value of the epic Mahabharata or to decrease the value of Gita cannot be said with certainty. However, both the ends were achieved. Today, Hindus regards the myths and legends talked about in the epic Mahabharata as true while Gita has lost the importance that it ought to have. Does this not speak of vested interests or the evil forces having their say in the affairs of religion? 

Another point that gives credence to this view is the quote from the Vishnu Purana, which says that Vyasa, after writing the Puranas, sat down to write the Mahabharata so as to add to the bulk of the scriptures. Doesn’t this raise eyebrows? Why would somebody write a long narrative just to add to the bulk of the overall literature? Why didn’t the author of the Vishnu Purana give another reason for Vyasa writing the Mahabharata? Doesn’t the wording of the Purana reveal an ulterior design? Another point that gives weight to our view that Puranas are not the same is the very fact that while it is being said that the Mahabharata was written later than the Puranas, the very incident talking of Vyasa writing the Mahabharata after the Puranas form part of narration of one of the Puranas. Clearly, somebody at some time in history sat down to add this line in the text of the Puranas. How can you explain this unless you accept our view that at least some portions of the Puranas got altered at a later date?

Another point is that the content of Gita is altogether different from the rest of Mahabharata. Whereas Gita preaches spiritualism of the loftiest nature, the rest of the pages only belittle that spiritual view and preach materialism. Our view is that there is also an attempt to degrade the personality of Krishna in Mahabharata. We would perhaps never know whether this was done by design or was just the consequence of foolish interpretation of Krishna’s actions. A study of the manner in which the teachings of the Prophet Mohammad have been changed by those calling themselves Muslims is necessary to show how vested interests take control of the situation and alter it at their will. The Caliphs post-Prophet Mohammad who ruled in the name of Islam had realized that since Islamic teachings do not support the material life that they would have liked to live, they would either have to bring the teachings down to support their way of living or raise their character to the level of true Islam if they wanted to continue ruling over the masses. The former was the easiest thing to do!

This is also the reason why the true inheritors of Prophet Mohammad’s legacy were not recognized by the selfish people of the period and all attempts were made to kill the Prophet’s progeny and to dilute his teachings. All these acts were committed in the name of Islam and several ignorant men, to this day, have been unable to see through their designs. Truly, Islamic teachings had nearly been hijacked and changed and those with vested interests nearly succeeded, until Husain rose up to draw a clear divisive line between true teachings and those propagated by Yazid in the name of Islam. 

We will see in this BOOK how the Forces of Darkness [Zulmat] (represented by Satan and others) use the same time-tested methods again and again. Show the glamours of the world to some and make them fall to the capricious invites of the pleasures of the senses. Corrupt the religious beliefs, literature, etc. in case of those who are devout but do not apply their mind. Make the people raise the status of individuals who brought the teachings so that they are given loftier positions, by their followers, than God whose Avatars/Messengers they were. Change the essence of religion through incorporating rites and rituals, and dogmatic beliefs. If that is not all, make some of your trusted lieutenant’s raise a war on the true followers, so as to subdue them or kill them.

This explains why those who called themselves Muslims killed members of Prophet Mohammad’s household. Once all other tactics got exhausted, they finally decided to eliminate the true champions of Mohammad’s legacy. We will see that had it not been for Husain’s sacrifice, the Islamic teachings had been corrupted beyond recognition within 50 years of the Prophet’s death. All the time-tested tortures and hardships that satanic mind could have conjured together through its centuries of experience in this world were inflicted on Husain and his followers. The hatred against those who truly followed Mohammad’s teachings was present to such an extent among the so-called Muslims of the time that even women and children in Husain’s family were not spared. Yet, all this failed. Karbala thwarted their designs, so much so that the very teachings they were trying to suppress erupted like a volcano, which took the true teachings of Islam not only across the Islamic world but also beyond its frontiers.

The imposed war against Krishna too was a design to kill the teachings right when they were being delivered. Today, an attempt is made by some to portray that those on the Krishna’s side as well as on Kaurava’s side were equally religious but had differences of opinion in regard to the mode of worship. They say this perhaps because there are still a large number of people whose religion is the same as that of the Kauravas – blind and full of rites and rituals. Was it religion governing the likes of Drona, Bhishma and Duryodhana that the Pandava’s tent was burnt while they were inside? Was it religion that all possible attempts were made to torture them and usurp their kingdom? Drona and Bhishma knew that consequent to Pandavas becoming believers of Krishna’s teachings, which propagated One God and nothing else, their own lofty positions in the people’s mind were at stake. They told the blind followers like Duryodhana that Krishna and his followers were corrupting their faith. 

Their worldly levels could be seen from the manner in which Duryodhana treated Draupadi; she was disrobed in public view. That Duryodhana did it can be believed! But how would you explain the entire audience including the sages who occupied lofty positions in the court remaining mute spectators? Clearly, their religion too was false, something that neither they nor their like-minded descendants today would be willing to accept. 

The Gita has more than 20 verses (distributed in seven Chapters) wherein Renunciation of the Fruits of Action has been talked about but even the commentators of Gita believe that Krishna sided with one of the warring factions, fighting for the possession of territory. Gita talks of strict adherence to righteousness and truth, even if it is at the cost of life, yet the epic Mahabharata portrays Krishna as someone who had no respect for the rules of the battlefield and shows that Karna and Bhishma were both killed by deceit. There are countless such incidents in Mahabharata that show Krishna acting contrary to the very teachings in Gita. Our view is that all through the epic Mahabharata, its writer has tried to restore some respect to those fighting against Krishna whereas Krishna has minced no words in Gita to pronounce them evil, deviated, unrighteous and worthy of being killed. No, Mahabharata was not a war between princes, as the epic Mahabharata would like us to believe. It was truly a war between right and wrong, between forces of justice and injustice, virtuous and evil. (you will know more when you read our commentary of Gita). 

All through, Mahabharata portrays Drona, Bhishma and Duryodhana as heroes, even if they are the side-heroes, and Krishna is the main hero. Fact is that if you read the Mahabharata carefully, you will find that it only attempts to restore some of the lost respect for the Kauravas. At the same time, it tries to bring down the position of Krishna by showing him as one who backs out from his promises, one who flaunts all the rules of battleship thereby revealing the wickedness behind the acts, one who gives false advice so as to win and one who supports the Pandavas for the great fight for the throne. Towards the end, Mahabharata shows Kauravas in heaven and for a moment even goes on to say that Pandavas were being burnt in the hell. Bhima is portrayed as a ferocious eater and one who was savage in deeds. Five husbands are assigned to Draupadi and it is mentioned that she used to live in the houses of all brothers, one by one, each succeeding day. Yet, one son each is assigned to all the brothers. How did they know who was whose son? 

It is unfortunate that we are yet to see through these designs and accept all literature as equally sacred and divine, even if it is Kamasutra and even if it is the poem - Mahabharata.

The same would have been the fate of Islamic teachings without Karbala. With no Karbala after Krishna, it can well be assumed how the evil forces must have succeeded in eliminating the distinction between the true and false teachings, how all literature became sacred when it came out of nearly 1000 years of oblivion during the period of Buddhist supremacy and how the evil minds largely succeeded in their designs.

In contrast to the view of most commentators who view Gita and Vedas talking of dissimilar and even contradictory subjects, our view is that Gita upholds the true teachings of Vedas to the maximum; if it criticizes anything, it is the misinterpretations that had been done by the time of Krishna and the deviations that had occurred from the pure Vedic teachings. People had digressed from the teachings of the Vedas, so much so they had become ritualistic and had started worshipping several forms of God; a bit of further deviation lead to a stage where there were various different gods and goddesses. Then came Gita - an attempt to return to the Almighty One God - asking the followers to ‘stand up and fight’ against the evil practices and deviations that had crept in their lives. The fact that Krishna had to indulge in a fight against a mighty army is another evidence that his teachings were not accepted easily and he had to labour hard to impart them. 

We must remember that in those times, the nobility, the kings and the priests were chiefly responsible for an idea or thought to pervade through the masses who mostly followed it as a rule. Several history books recount how the priests had confined religious rituals to a few and the masses were not supposed to attend them. They stood far away, watching the king and priests perform the ritual, grasping whatever fragments of religion they could grasp, from that distance.

From this viewpoint, the fight between Kauravas and Pandavas gains significance. Krishna was able to influence Arjuna and the rest of Pandavas, who had become champions of his cause. The fact that Arjuna himself talks of a time when he used to make fun of Krishna’s teachings is a proof of this. Kauravas continued to adhere to the religion of their forefathers, who were mightily influenced by several leading priests of the time. These priests never wanted the power that they had gained over the masses slipped from their hands. Arjuna had been a favourite disciple of these gurus; the guru had even seen to it that there was none to comepte Arjuna. This is the reason why Arjuna was reluctant to fight those revered gurus, who were feared even by the kings for their respect among the masses. 

Nothing can be said with certainty though as that was the period when writing had not developed and historical accounts were not kept. What is most certain, however, is that Krishna’s teachings too were disobeyed which lead to another revolution, centuries later, by Lord Buddha, which was to sweep the entire territory of India and up to Ceylon (present day Sri Lanka). 

We have said earlier that the views of the nobility were generally accepted as views of the majority. You might not digest this easily. But the fact is that Buddhism was struggling to find roots until King Ashoka embraced the religion. Thereafter, it spread much faster, that too till Sri Lanka and Burma. However, this is not the desired way as it brings people of all type of thinking into the religious fold.

Since Buddha too was confronted with materialism all around, his teachings naturally practiced simple living. Unable to understand this, Buddhists went to the other extreme of renouncing the world and leading a monastic life. In general, it was against the human tendency to lead a life of renunciation of this kind. A silent and gradual backlash led to the decline of Buddhism and people returned to the old customs and manners. 

The original Mahabharata had been composed in and around third century B.C. But its relevance grew with time and, as Nataraj Guru writes, it was brought to its present form by some follower of the Vedanta in the second century A.D., when the decline of Buddhism had begun. Later, the commentaries by Sankara (788-826 A.D) followed by Ramanuja (1017-1137 A.D.) and Madhava (1199-1317 A.D.), led to the building of what is known as the Gita literature of today.

Nataraj Guru writes: “About the period when the Guptas ruled, when Buddhism was in decline in India, largely owing to political reasons, there was a spiritual vacuum in the land. The monastic life of the Buddhists had to give way to a revalued and readjusted form of spiritual life. The heterodox rationalism of the Buddhists had come to be discredited and there was no valid philosophy to displace it. In its latest form, the Gita was itself a fulfilment of the spiritual need of the times and Sankara’s commentary on the Gita came just at that period when there was a certain anarchy and confusion of spiritual values in the mind of the ordinary people. Vedic ritualism also tended to be discredited among the masses and the regulating influence so necessary to keep people from falling into an era of decadence of norms and standards of a just or truthful life was absent. By his comments Sankara was able to give stability and continuity to the flow of righteous teaching down through the succeeding generations. His importance as a commentator of the Gita is thus unique, representative and comprehensive.”

It can easily be fathomed why Vyasa felt the need to compose Mahabharata, after writing the Puranas, so as to add to the bulk of the scriptures. Unless there were other reasons for it, it can be argued that this was done to fill the spiritual vacuum that had come after the decline of Buddhism and in the dearth of any philosophy to replace the Buddhist teachings. It is during the succeeding period, which continued right until the 10th and 11th century A.D., that we find the first commentaries of Gita and Vedas. We also find the Puranas being rewritten and Gita being inserted inside the pages of epic Mahabharata. 

It is a period of more than 1000 years between the Mahabharata being composed and attempts made to write its commentary. And there is still greater gap between the actual event of Mahabharata and composition of Gita. If there are certain missing links, this is the reason for it.

This long period made the people forget certain vital links as regards to comprehension of Gita and when attempts were made at a later stage to replace Buddhism with another philosophy, Krishna was picked up, but unfortunately, along with all the myths and wrong notions that had penetrated during the long centuries of neglect and ill-use.

Isn’t it unfortunate that, unable to clearly comprehend several passages of the Gita or find examples that can be put into practice, Sankara and later Nataraj Guru, both came to the conclusion that “Gita is far from the category of Smartha (obligatory religious) literature? It is this notion that we wish to discard in this BOOK. If Gita is not a book of obligatory conduct then what book is? Whether those books are Smarthas which are filled with rituals, talking about innumerable gods and how to please them or those which touch just a few aspects of human life alone? Gita teaches Brahma Vidya (Science of the Absolute) and following it to its entirety will only make Absolute or Complete Men emerge.

It is extremely unfortunate that in order to prove this theory, the commentators of Gita have even gone to point of calling the writer of Gita as influenced by other school of thoughts, without realizing that the writer of Mahabharata may have been Vyasa or anybody, Gita is the utterance of Paramatma Itself, through the mouth of Krishna. If you are to believe what various commentators have written then you will have to either conclude that Gita is not the utterance of Krishna and it is all fiction created by another writer, or be prepared to accept that Krishna said something and the writer later changed it as per the needs of time, or say that Krishna’s thoughts were governed by the thinking of the time – all things that this writer refuses to accept.

In the introduction to his commentary on Gita, Nataraj Guru has devoted a chapter “The Reason for Mistake of Treating the Gita as a Work of Obligatory Nature” in which he says: “If we ask why the contents of the eighteen chapters and the 700 verses of the Gita have been so puzzling that most commentators have tended to treat it as a book on obligatory, religious or traditional lore, instead of treating it, as it highly deserves to be, on par with the most authoritative writings pertaining to pure contemplative wisdom, the reasonable answer is that the author of Gita was faced with taking cognizance of the existing schools of spiritual thought and practice of his own time, like any writer.”

Most unfortunate indeed! Nataraj Guru agrees his inability to understand the content of Gita by saying that the 700 verses of the Gita are puzzling. This is perhaps due to his inability to find men who could befit Gita’s description; we will be showing such people who befit the teachings of Gita during the course of this BOOK. It is quite amusing that “the most authoritative writing pertaining to pure contemplative wisdom” is not obligatory. Was Krishna just doing plain rhetoric or ‘big talk’, that too in the midst of the clamour of swords and arrows flying nearby, and there was no obligation for Arjuna to follow? Or was the obligation merely for Arjuna, and not for us? Or is Krishna meant only for being put up as idol to be worshipped, that too an idol of his childhood days, when he may not have been in position to give such conclusive and authoritative statements “pertaining to pure contemplative wisdom”. 

ONE GOD ONE RELIGION PART 1-G: Krishna Misunderstood

KRISHNA MISUNDERSTOOD

It is evident from the Puranas that people of the time of Krishna did not recognize him, as he ought to be recognized. Some of our readers might say this couldn’t be possible; how could this be that people of the time didn’t recognize Krishna despite him showing so many miracles right from the time when he was a kid. When millions of people worship him now, how is it possible that those in his period were not doing the same. 

Fact is that being on the side of Krishna in those times meant following a certain way of life. One had to be truthful, just and righteous, if one wished to come to Krishna’s side. He had to believe in One God to such an extent that all material things in life were to become immaterial. He had to improve his conduct and nature and, upon doing so, he had to work to remove evil from the society, even if it meant suffering material losses. Since the physical body was immaterial, as per Krishna, it didn’t matter if the person died in the pursuit.

Even today, if Krishna’s teachings are to be truly followed, many of his seemingly most ardent followers would desert him. As long as nothing is demanded in return, it is always easy to call oneself a believer or worshipper. Suppose Krishna was to come again and say that all his believers would henceforth consider fighting all injustice, evil and cruelty as their duty, even if it means giving a few sacrifices, just as Krishna himself did all through his life. How many of us would remain on Krishna’s side?

If Krishna would come to say that from now onwards all have to compulsorily spend a good portion of their earnings to feed the poor and take care of those who are ill or in need of attention, how many of us would be willing to do so? In fact, in all likelihood, Krishna would not accept our money, as a great portion of it is ill gotten, which we so heartily shower on Krishna’s idols. Some of the biggest spenders of charity are those who do not even think for a minute while earning whether their money is truthfully obtained or not. All is permissible in business or life, outside of the mandirs. Are these Krishna’s teachings?

If the story described in the Puranas is true, then Krishna’s own brother Satrajit and others doubted that Krishna might have killed his brother Prasena, to obtain the wonderful gem. The canard was spread to such an extent that Krishna, in order to quell all those views that were circulating, had to go to the forest, along with some of his Yadava friends. He followed the footprints of his brother’s horse, and then those of the lion who killed him, and then those of the king of bears who killed the lion, and reached the mouth of the cave. He went inside the cave where he had to fight for 21 days with Jambawat, the king of bears, for the possession of the gem. And the ‘intensity’ of his Yadava friend’s love for him can be understood by the fact that none accompanied Krishna inside the cave; they waited outside for seven days and then concluded that he must have met his death in the cavern. “It could not have required so many days,” they thought, “to overcome an enemy;” and accordingly departed and returned to Dwaraka, and announced that Krishna had been killed. 

Can there be a greater proof required to tell that there were only a few who were truly on Krishna’s side when he was present as a person in this world? It is easy to say now that we are his followers, but let a time come when Krishna descends to test our integrity towards him and his God, and we would start finding excuses or errors. Isn’t it true that being with Krishna means accepting his message as true and leaving all attachments to the world to become one with God through the path shown by him? Yet, majority of his followers continue to be besotted with worldly desires. 

Upon hearing of Krishna’s death, even his relatives performed all the obsequial rites suited to the occasion. Far better than them was Jambawat, who was self-confessedly born of brute origin and who realized Krishna’s virtues in the course of his fight and prostrated before him. Krishna told him that he had descended to take upon himself the burden of the earth and Jambawat offered to him his daughter Jambawati as wife and returned the Syamantaka jewel so that Krishna “could clear his reputation.”

Krishna returned the jewel to his brother and “was exonerated from the crime of which he had been falsely accused.” When Satrajit reflected that he had been the cause of the aspersion upon Krishna’s character, he gave his daughter Satyabhama to Krishna as wife. (Those who fight over gotra for marriage should note that Satrajit has been described as Krishna’s brother). But this too became cause of enmity and people like Akrura, Kritavarman and Satadhanwan became Krishna’s foes.

It is mentioned that Akrura, though conniving against Krishna, knew his greatness. This shows that despite the true knowledge, ego or self-interest often hinders the person’s coming to the right path.

Even Balabhadra, his brother, doubted Krishna’s intentions and was of the opinion that Krishna was pursuing Satadhanwan for material wealth. Balabhadra flew into a violent rage and said to Krishna, “Shame light upon you, to be thus greedy of wealth! I acknowledge no brotherhood with you. Here lies my path. Go whither you please; I have done with Dwaraka with you, with all our house. It is of no use to seek to impose upon me with thy perjuries.”

Does all this not prove our claim? Also it is worthwhile to note that while Gita is replete with the highest teachings relating to self and God, the incidents described about Krishna’s life in Puranas sometime belittle his personality. This is another reason why we wish to believe that Puranas are not the same and they went through editing at some point of time.

Chapter XV of the Vishnu Purana says that when the powerful being resided in this world of mortals, he had 16,100 wives. By these the Universal form, which is without beginning, had 180,000 sons.

Does this fit with your reason? They are hell-bent on proving Krishna as superhuman so that they do not have to follow his way of life. Even the idols that we worship show his childhood image; a time when he had not even started pronouncing his teachings.

The description in Vishnu Purana is not centred on wives alone. Sons too are mentioned. This refutes the argument given by those who claim that Krishna had several wives because they had been gifted to him. Krishna was also producing children and if we divide 180,000 sons with 16,100 wives, it would come to each wife having an average of more than 11 sons. Daughters are not counted because that was immaterial to the writer of Purana.

It is beyond the nature of a kind person like Krishna to marry a woman and leave her uncared and unloved. Accepting what has been said in the Purana would amount to accepting several more absurd theories. Krishna was to give 10 minutes each to 45 wives each day if he was to spend only 10 minutes each with his 16,100 wives during a year. Moreover, if we believe that he was spending 10 minutes each with 45 of his wives per day, it would amount to saying that Krishna was spending 450 minutes daily performing this chore, thereby meaning that seven-and-a-half hours daily were being spent catering to the needs of wives alone. This was when Krishna was giving only 10 minutes of his time in a year to each of his wives. Believe us, this is just one small reason which shows that the Puranas are not in their original form anymore and talk of myths and legends that have no roots in truth. The very fact that some of them talk of the temples, which were constructed as late as the 10th century A.D., also confirms our view. There are a lot many other proofs that can be given, so much so that an entire book can be written on the subject.

ONE GOD ONE RELIGION PART 1-F: Preachers Against the True Path

PREACHERS AGAINST THE TRUE PATH

Chapter XX of The Vishnu Purana clearly says there were ascetics who taught doctrine opposed to those of the Vedas. And the other group of brahmins felt that anyone who uttered words of disrespect to the authority of the eternal, uncreated Veda, was degraded and fallen from his state. Even so if he was, like Krishna, talking of the need to re-understand the teachings of the Vedas.

Chapter VII of Maitri Upanishad explicitly describes to what extent degradation had taken place and how lowly beings too were worshipped along with the Devatas. It says that despite having a groove in front of them, they cling to low shrub. Further, it is stated that they all are under delusion that they are worthy of heaven, but they are not. Even the various groups of priests and sadhus, who are described in detail, are not worthy of heavens. See the conditions of those times in the words of Maitri Upanishad and introspect whether some of the evils described have continued to remain in our present society or not?

VII.8 of Maitri Upanishad says:

Now then, the hindrances to knowledge, O King. This is indeed the source of the net of delusion, the association of one who is worthy of heaven with those who are not worthy of heaven, that is it. Though it is said there is a grove before them they cling to a low shrub. Now there are some who are always hilarious, always abroad, always begging, always making a living by handicraft. And others are who are beggars in town, who perform sacrifices, for the unworthy, who are the disciples of Sudras and who, though Sudras, are learned in the scriptures. And others there are who are wicked, who wear their hair in a twisted knot, who are dancers, who are mercenaries, traveling mendicants, actors, those who have been degraded in the king’s service. And others there are who, for money, profess they can allay (the evil influences) of Yaksas (sprites), Raksasas (ogres), ghosts, goblins, devils, serpents, imps and the like. And others there are who, under false pretexts, wear the read rope, earrings and skulls. And others there are who love to distract the believers in the Veda by the jugglery of false arguments, comparisons and paralogisms, with these one should not associate. These creature, evidently, are thieves and unworthy of heaven. For this has it been said: The world bewildered by doctrines that deny the self, by false comparisons and proofs does not discern the difference between wisdom and knowledge.

This is a very important passage as it tells to what extent degradation had occurred. All types of pseudo-worshippers were present who were not worthy of going to heaven. There were some whose company itself, people were advised, not to keep. And there was a group of evil men who were working to distract the people from the Vedas by the jugglery of false arguments, comparisons and parallelisms. That they are described as thieves and not worthy of heaven tell clearly of the bad times through which Hinduism had to pass through.  

It is Self that is described as the cause of all life and in which all life would finally disappear. The times were such that a group had appeared which altogether denied the existence of Self. They even gave false comparisons and proofs to bewilder the people. Since the word ‘The world’ is used, it amply suggests this was not a group of few people but a large number of them had come to believe so, because of the teachings of these false priests. The Upanishad clearly states that the seekers of knowledge and the wise knew the true identity of Self, thereby showing there indeed were men with true understanding, albeit they were few in numbers. 

Verse VII.9 of Maitri Upanishad further states the state of affairs during those times. False personalities were created to confuse the people regarding the most revered personalities. Religious beliefs were being doctored and even the good teachings were being deliberately replaced by evil teachings. Worse still, people had begun to accept them as true. Truly, Forces of Misguidance and evil were at work with full force.

VII.9 of Maitri Upanishad says:

Verily, Brhaspati (the teacher of the Devas) became Sukra (the teacher of the demons) and for the security of Indra and for the destruction of demons created this ignorance. By this (they) declare the inauspicious to be auspicious and the auspicious to be inauspicious. They saw that there should be attention to the law which is destructive of the (teachings of the Vedas) and the other scriptures. Therefore one should not attend to this teaching. It is false. It is like a barren woman. Mere pleasure is the fruit there of as also of one who has fallen from the proper course. It should not be attempted. For this has it been said: Widely opposed and divergent are these two, the one known as ignorance, and the other as knowledge. I (Yama) think that Naciketas is desirous of obtaining knowledge and many desires do not rend you. He who knows at the same time knowledge and ignorance together, having crossed death by means of ignorance he wins the immortal by knowledge. Those who are wrapped up in the midst of ignorance, fancying themselves alone wise and learned, they wander, hard smitten and deluded like blind men led by one who is himself blind.

It is clear the conflict between good and bad was at its peak and the chief worry of the followers of the true path was to safeguard the teachings of the Vedas. The distinction between ignorant and wise had diminished or almost evaporated. Those who were ignorant were considered knowledgeable and likewise, vice versa. People doubted the revealed scriptures like Vedas and stories were circulating regarding the identity of Devatas, who were sometimes portrayed playing villainous roles. Some of these stories, like those of the fights between Devatas and demons, were so sporadically spread that they have even reached us as canards. It is extremely doubtful whether they are based on truth. Yet, such was the intensity of these narrations that the sage Yama had to take recourse to one such story to reveal the importance of Vedas and to downgrade the role of demons. This is apparent from the following verse.

See VII.10 of the same Upanishad: 

Verily, the gods (read Devatas, as this is the word used in original Sanskrit text) and the demons, being desirous of (knowing) the self went into the presence of Brahma. Having bowed before him they said, Revered Sir, we are desirous of (knowing) the self, so do you tell us. Then, after having reflected a long while, he thought in himself. Verily, these demons are desirous of a self different (from the true one). Therefore a very different doctrine was told to them. On that these deluded (demons) here live their life, with intense attachment, destroying the means of salvation and praising what is false. They see the false, as if it were true, as in jugglery. Therefore what is set forth in the Vedas, that is the truth. On what is said in the Vedas, on that wise men live their life. Therefore a Brahman should not study what is not of the Veda. This should be the purpose.

If we believe this narration to be true, it implies that both the powers of guidance i.e. the Devatas and the powers of misguidance i.e. the Demons have been created by the Divine Forces for a purpose. They both are opposing forces and both work on the humans. For what would be the test for mankind if there were no demonic forces working on them. We will show later that the Quran too says that We are the creator of Noor and Zulmat. Most Muslim commentators have neither understood the term Noor nor the term Zulmat.

Vedas, it is reiterated in the aforementioned Upanishad as well, are the supreme source of all rightful information. And the fact that wise men lived their life waiting for the Devatas to come too can be derived from Vedas and various Upanishads. Since the authenticity and greatness of Devatas is maintained in all books having a Divine association (the Vedas and Gita), nobody can deny their role in this universe created by God. However, since there is a great deal of confusion relating to the true position of the Devatas, we decided to stick only to the Divine Books, viz. the Vedas and Gita and to Upanishads to understand their true role in this creation.  

If the Vedas are revealed scriptures, as they are rightly believed to be so, there must be some very strong reason why the entire Vedas (all four of them) talk of the Devatas and nothing else? But if Vedas are full of description of Devatas, why is it that the present Hindu society does not give the same status to the Devatas? Why is it that scholars like Dayanand Saraswati translated the term Devata as steam engines, airplanes, etc. and other commentators showed that the Devatas existed at one point of time but their role is not that important anymore? Surely there is something amiss! Does that mean that the Vedas have lost their relevance now? Never! If this is not so then we will have to accept that we have not understood the Vedas and the Devatas truly till date. The Devatas are, as have been described in various Upanishads, truly the source of all knowledge revealed to guide us and to show us the true path. We have given a verse at the beginning where the Devatas are being invoked to remove our sins, vices and miseries and also for granting all that is beneficial and auspicious for us. 

O All-creating Deva please sweep away from us all sins, vices and miseries and grant us all that is beneficial and auspicious.

Still we do not know their true identity!  Come, read with us and we will show to you, with proofs, the real identity of Devatas and how we are related and indebted to them in our lives. 

ONE GOD ONE RELIGION PART 1-E: Devatas Used by the Kings and the Priests for Their Personal Benefits

DEVATAS USED BY THE KINGS AND THE PRIESTS FOR THEIR PERSONAL BENEFITS

The subject of Devatas has since long confounded the opinions of scholars. Vedas and Upanishads are replete with their mention. Even Krishna mentions them in Gita on several occasions. Initially, people revered them and invoked them to seek blessings from God. With time, they started worshipping them as gods, and the entire fabric of Vedic teachings got corrupted. 

Truth is that the greatest of deviations occur from within. People who blame other religions or outsiders for corruption forget that the outsiders can get a foot-hold only when the rot has begun within. As you read, you will find the same happening to the teachings of Buddha. Likewise, the Islamic teachings too were hijacked by those who claimed to be Muslims. Indo-Aryans too could not safeguard themselves from internal forces leading the core teachings astray. Enemy was never from outside, it was within the community and also within us.

A detailed reading of the Puranas make it clear that there was a time when the sanctity and respect attached to the name of these Devatas was used to strengthen the position of the kings and the priests. In the introduction to the Vishnu Purana, RC Hazra says: “The sages ask Suta and Magadha to extol the king but Suta and Magadha intimidated their difficulty saying that as they knew nothing about the merits and activities of their king who was born that very day and as his fame did not spread out, they fail to understand what should form the basis of their praise. The sages said in reply: “Let the king be extolled with (the mention of) the acts this highly powerful monarch will perform and the virtues he will attain.”

This shows clearly how powerful the priests had become at one point of time. They killed King Vena for his alleged anti-Vedic views and activities; not even thinking for a moment that killing of a person itself was sin. Moreover, who gave them the authority to decide whether the King was anti-Vedic or not? As we will find in this BOOK, these priests who were killing in the name of Vedas had themselves not understood the Vedas and its content just as the Muslim Jehadis of today have not understood the teachings of Mohammad and yet are killing others in the name of Islam. 

Perhaps Vena was killed in a religious ceremony itself because the Vishnu Purana talks of extracting Soma juice on the day of Soma-pressing during the ‘Paitamaha Yajna’. And then the sages asked these two poets – Suta and Magadha – to sing praises of the future acts of the king as the king had made a promise that he would acquire the same merits with devotion, which these two persons would mention by way of eulogizing him. So Suta and Magadha began singing the praises of the king using the same degree of superlatives as were normally used for the Devatas and the kings of repute. Thus, the day-old child who was sworn as king was praised for his future conduct from the day of his swearing.

See how the sages killed somebody who did not share their view and were now preparing to install a puppet, a day-old child, in whose name they wished to rule. This child was labelled as ‘highly powerful monarch’, at a time when he couldn’t utter a single word. They asked these two poets – Suta and Magadha – to sing praises of the future acts of the king saying that the king had made a promise that he would acquire the merits with devotion, which these two persons will mention by way of eulogizing him. This implies that if they sang that he would become a great king, he would become great, if they sang he would be a powerful king, he would become powerful, if they said he was a virtuous king, he would become virtuous, if they extolled him as a just king, he would do no injustice and so on. So Suta and Magadha, who usually sang praises of the Devatas on religious occasions, used the respect and fame they had gained to sing the praises of the king, using all those epithets and praises that they used for the Devatas. 

This is same as you start talking of the deeds of the life of Priyanka Gandhi’s son, born on 29th August 2000, on the 30th of August, saying that he is the best of the Prime Ministers India has seen, the most truthful of men, the one who cares for Indians and one who spends his life in handling the affairs of his subjects. And you do this on the grounds of a promise extracted from the day-old child that he would acquire all those traits and virtues that the poets would sing for him. The aforementioned incident shows the extent to which the people blindly respected and revered the priests. Thus priests, to a large extent, were greatly responsible for bringing about the deviations to the true religious teachings.

See this narration from Vishnu Purana: 

Then Suta and Magadha praised Prthu in a sweet voice by mentioning his future acts and describing him as truthful, bounteous, modest, friendly, forbearing, powerful and compassionate person, and as one who keeps his promises, chastises the wicked, knows Dharma (duty), acknowledges service, speaks pleasing words, honours the venerable, performs sacrifices, knows the Vedas thoroughly, makes no difference between friends and foes in administering justice, and is honoured by good men.

‘Good men’ must surely be the so-called sages, who killed Vena and must be reaping the rewards of making a day-old child sit on the throne. This shows how the brahmins kept a firm grip on the kings by keeping the propaganda machinery in their hands. The kings of the period, only those who were patronized by brahmins, were extolled with praises meant for the Devatas, despite whatever character they had and howsoever they governed the country. Naturally, only those kings who were patronized by the powerful priests were granted these benefits. And even the name of the Devatas was brought to use in this propaganda drive, as we will come to see later. It is not difficult to conjecture that once the king fell out of favour, he had to bear the wrath of the priests, as happened in the case of Vena. And such propaganda drives were initiated either to establish the rule of the king of their choice or to strengthen his hold over the subjects.

If you are thinking how the people could be so foolish that they believed all this or if you are of the opinion that this could not happen in these times anymore, we remind you of the case of idols drinking milk not only in India, but even in far off places like UK and the USA. Even today there are several ashrams that get richer by thousands of litres of oil, each Saturday. Devotees throng to the gurus seeking spirituality and salvation but only get glorified doses of materialism.

In Kautilya’s Arthasastra (V.3.xiii.1), we find the Pauranika - Suta and Magadha - as given a very high position in the royal court like the Kartanika (foreteller), Naimittika (reader of omens), Mauhurtika (astrologer) and others and allowed to draw a salary of 1000 Panas, but they are said to have been employed for “giving wide publicity to the power of the king to be associated with Devatas throughout his territory,” and in foreign countries, for “spreading the news of Devatas appearing before the conqueror and of his having received weapons and treasure from heaven.”

These are not our words, but those of Kautilya’s Arthasastra, endorsed by RC Hazra in this book. The wordings here clearly show that the stories of arms from heaven were created to get a psychological advantage over their enemies. Do we require any other proof to show how the character of Devatas like Indra got maligned; so much so that several people today believe that Indra was perhaps a man of loose moral character? Could this have been possible, considering that Indra never came down on earth, and when he did actually came to live on this earth at a later time, by that time people had forgotten about him and did not even realize that he was the Indra of the Vedas (you will know more about this secret later in this BOOK).

It is extremely sorry that the present-day Hindus see even Kautilya’s Arthasastra as part of their religious literature, in spite of the fact that Kautilya had nothing to do with true religion. Teachings like those that talk of using all possible means, even deplorable, to achieve one’s objectives, are oft quoted by the Hindus. They forget that Kautilya was merely a shrewd politician who used religion to his advantage. Otherwise, the real preachers of true Hindu teachings are the likes of Maryada Purushottam Rama who left the palace life to live a life of hardships just for an apparently insignificant moral issue. Likewise, physical purity of his wife was so dear to Rama that he forced Sita, his beloved wife for whom he had taken on the might of a powerful king, to agni-pariksha. It is sad chapter of Indian history that the later day scholars gave countless worldly men, like Kautilya, who had nothing to do with spirituality or religion, the aura of auspiciousness.

This is how all those absurd stories about Devatas like IndraDeva and VayuDeva came into circulation, which form part of the present-day Puranas. If the priests and the kings could go to these levels to retain their hold over power, they would have surely tried to hide their sins once the lady who had to face their lustful acts got pregnant. This was particularly so because the king’s fame had been built on righteous acts and it was not expected of him or of the maidens of their household to have ill-gotten children. The blame was conveniently shifted on the Devatas, whom none had seen but all revered and worshipped. This could not have happened without support of the high priests. Therefore, we see several such children when we read Mahabharata; a great many of them were fighting either on the side of Krishna or against him. 

Is it difficult to comprehend that the sins of sages and kings were ascribed to the Devatas? So much so that if a woman in forest was impregnated by somebody and if she happened to be from an influential family, it was publicized that Indra or Sun God or Moon God came down to commit that act of sin, thereby taking away the blame from that woman and also hiding the identity of the person who impregnated her. Since money was spent in this propaganda drive and the learned sages were responsible for carrying it out, because of their firm hold on the simple and ignorant people, it slowly became part of folklore, all of whom were later given a place in the Puranas when they were rewritten due to certain unknown compulsions at a later stage.  (We will prove in some later work that the Puranas in existence are not in their original state and were rewritten in the medieval period with a lot many changes from their original content). After all, if the woman said that it was the moon-god who did this to her, and the revered sage authenticated it by saying that the moon-god came to him to wash away the remnants, consequent to performing the act, it was difficult to disbelieve it.

The sages were even smarter. They even be-fooled the kings at times, so much so that the kings gave away their wives to them, in order to produce children possessing god-like powers. Vishnu Purana recounts one such incident. Similar incidents are available in few other Puranas as well. It is common sense that the kings married the most beautiful of women. The priests, owing to their extraordinary power over the kings and also because of the false supremacy that they had propagated for themselves, made these kings part away with their wives. The wives came to sleep with these ‘revered sages’ so that children with extraordinary powers were born to them. Thus the priests even initiated adultery, using the great respect that people and kings had for them. And the common people must have continued to see them as Brahmcharis (wilfully celibate).

Puranas say that even in Krishna’s time, examples of Rishis begetting children from young and unmarried women and having illicit relationships with the wives of the kshattriya kings and princes abounded.

Another reason why the priests enjoyed such great supremacy over kings was because of the great control that these pseudo-priests had over the common people. The kings feared that the priests were in position to create a negative atmosphere about the king, if they fell from their grace. The chief priest only had to wake up in the morning and say that such and such Devata came in dream and said that the king was not working as per the Vedic teachings, and people would have ousted the king. On the contrary, if the king kept them satisfied, they narrated positive stories to the people. Even stories of arms coming from heaven were created to give a psychological advantage over the enemies. Thus the kings went out of the way to satisfy the priests, even if it meant sending their wives to them or showering them with gifts. 

Read the entire Matsya Purana and you will get to realize the significance of Krishna’s statement when he said that God was nowhere to be found in the religious sacrifices and neither were the teachings of morality, auspiciousness, chastity, non-violence, etc. were visible.

Even Indra and Brhaspati are described as having stooped to the level of mortal sinners so much so that they do not seem to listen to the talk of morality in front of their lustful desires or when in love with someone else’s wife. How can this be accepted of Indra or Brhaspati when Divine Scriptures like the Vedas are full of praises for them? Even their righteousness and steadfastness has been praised time and again. But have we understood the Vedas truly? You will know shortly that we have not! Fact remains that Indra and Brhaspati are the highest creation of the Absolute God and the rest of jivas (beings) owe their creation to them. If Puranas have penned down such thoughts about them, it shows they contain nothing but heresy and canards, written by someone who was himself unable to distinguish between right and wrong. 

The Vishnu Purana mentions several instances where Rishis built huge palaces for their several wives. Rishi Saubhari made King Mandhatri marry all his 50 daughters to him. The king did so as he was “dreading to incur the anger and imprecation of the holy man.” Such was the fear of these ‘holy men’. Says the Vishnu Purana further:

The sage took them home to his habitation, where he employed the chief of architects, Visvakarman, equal in taste and skill to Brahma himself, to construct separate palaces of each of his wives: he ordered him to provide each building with elegant couches and seats and furnitures, and to attach to them gardens and groves, with reservoirs of water, where the wild-duck and the swan should sport amidst beds of lotus flowers.

Note the wordings: “equal in taste and skill to Brahma himself”. Viswakarman may have been a very talented architect but he is being equated with Brahma. If somebody who was a mere ‘chief of architects’ was bestowed with such praises, imagine how much false praises the kings and priests must be circulating regarding their own greatness. It were ultimately the Devatas – the revered ‘gods’ of the period – whose reputation was brought down to enhance the reputation of these people. 

We read these accounts and move ahead. Not for a moment do we realize the negative aspect of it. All the wealth had got confined in the hands of the so-called Rishis. Rishi Saubhari had so much of wealth that he could afford 50 palaces for his 50 wives. Did we ever think from where all this must have come? Even the kings were afraid of the Rishis, so much so that a king parted with all his daughters and married them to an old Rishi, who could not even walk straight. Naturally, the kings bestowed generous donations on the sages so as to keep them happy and even supplied them with women, sometimes their own wives, to safeguard themselves from their wrath. 

Readers are requested to read the Upanishads devoted to Yajnavalkya, a learned saint who is seen going to the palaces to answer questions of the ‘revered’ priests of the time. This shows the priests got accustomed to power and wealth to such an extent that they were mostly available in the corridors of power. Materialism reigned supreme while they talked of spirituality. The kings, in response to their questions related to gods and spirituality, talked of giving in return a cow with horns of gold and such material presents as gifts. Materialism governed their lives to such an extent that material and worldly gifts are talked about in Puranas in return for reading of the Puranas or making copies of these books. No spiritual rewards are mentioned for reading the Puranas. For instance, heaven or hell or moksha or spiritual excellence are not talked about. Instead, there are wordings like reading this Purana is equivalent to giving so much cows to a brahmin or giving gold to them. We see this trend right till the times of Buddha where we find kings and rich men gifting upvan (gardens) and large pieces of land to the priests. 

How such Rishis could have ever endorsed Krishna’s teachings, which talked of returning to God? They knew Krishna emphasized on righteousness and subjugation of self and the acts to none but God and accepting these teachings would have meant bidding farewell to their lives of luxury. Who would have liked to lose such a lifestyle where the kings too were afraid of the Rishis and sages to a great extent? This is the reason why Bhishma and Drona, who surely represented an entire group of brahmins stood up to oppose Krishna, thereby leading to the battle of Mahabharata. It were they who were instrumental in gathering the various rulers to the side of the Kauravas. This is the reason why Gita describes Duryodhana as blind; someone who was (mis)led by the religious gurus of the time to fight the ‘dharma’ (religious) war against Krishna and his followers.