Thus Spake the Divine - Vedas, The Origin

Thus Spake the Divine

Vedas, The Origin

Our religion consists of two sub- sects viz. Shaivaite and Vaishnava. Should we call them as two religions or one single religion?

Poojyasri Maha Periyava presents grounds, which substantiate the fact that both Shaivism and Vaishanavism are two branches of a single root. He points as evidence texts from Vedas and other spiritual manuscripts in this regard.

Even in Christianity, there are two sub- divisions viz. Catholic and Protestant. But people call it one religion because irrespective of sub-divisions, both pray to Lord Jesus. In Buddhism too, there are two sub-divisions viz. Heenayana and Mahayana. But it is still known as one religion because both have Buddha as their Leader.

But is there only one God for Shaivaite and Vaishnava? No! Though commoners among Vaishnava will be flexible enough, leaders of Vaishnava will be very strict in their outlook. They would never visit Shiva temples. To them, Shiva is not God at all; He is the devotee of Lord Vishnu. There are extremists among Shaivaite too, who consider Lord Vishnu as the devotee of Lord Shiva. Then, how can we ever confine both these sects under one religion?

Is there at least one single scripture that is common to both these sub-sects? Even though there are divisions within Christianity and Islam, they have Bible and Quran respectively in common. However, in case of Shaivaite, they have Thevaram and other such guiding books as their religious books, whereas Vaishnava have Nalayira Divya Prabandham as their fundamental scripture. The books are different, Gods are different. Then, how can both sects be accommodated under one religion?

Thank God, though we have been divided into Shaivaite and Vaishnava, the British called us both as Hindus! Had they not christened us as Hindus, we would have identified ourselves as Shaivaite, Vaishnava, Devotee of Goddess Parvati, Devotee of Lord Muruga, Devotee of Lord Ganesha, and Devotee of Lord Iyappa under different separate religions. If we classify ourselves into different religions, then there will be more number of Muslims and Christians in any place in India!

Now the question is: Do we all belong to one religion or are there two religions? Even though we say Shaivaite and Vaishnava worship different Gods, follow different scriptures, the reality is different. If you look at the prime scriptures of Shaivaite and Vaishnava, we will come to know the reality. Even composers and authors of both the prime scriptures viz. Thevaram and Nalayira Divya Prabandham have never thought or claimed that their book of scriptures is the prime book. Nor did they claim that they were heads of the respective worships. Even before Alwars emerged, Vaishnavism did exist and even before Nayanmars emerged, Saivaism did exist. Their prime scriptures are thus Vedas alone. Both Vaishnava and Shaivaite mention Vedas in their books of scriptures.

If we look at books or scriptures of both Vaishnava and Shaivaite, we can come to a conclusion that Vedas are the origin for both their scriptures. The writers of these books speak about Vedas when they sing about any spiritual place. That “The sound of Vedas was permeating all across; Vedas were flourishing in all their aspects”.

It is Vedas, which have manifested one philosophy into different idols of God. In the river of Vedas, worship of each idol can be compared to that of the river’s banks. Even if we take Saktham (Worship of Goddess Shakti), Ganapatham (worship of Lord Ganesha), Kaumaram (worship of Lord Muruga), Souram (worship of Lord Surya), the sources of all these worships are found in Vedas. Thus, Vedas are the source and origin of Hindu religion.

Acharyas of both Vaishnava and Shaivaite sub-sects have written interpretations of Upanishads known as Dasobanishads. In them, it is stated that Brahmam alone is the absolute truth, the God. In that case, it is very clear that there is one common book of scriptures and one common God for all the sub-sects of our religion.

That common book of scriptures comprises the Vedas and the common God is Brahmam. So, without any doubt, we can claim that we all belong to only one religion! It is the Vedas, which have shown us the God and have provided us the Codes and Rules of Dharma that will enable us to attain the state of Moksha. Vedas are the panacea for our life in this world and life after death. Vedas are the root of all our rituals and philosophies. All sub-sects have branched out only from the origin, which are the Vedas. The root is one and the branches are several.

If we go deeper into this, we will realise that Vedas are not only the origin of Hindu religion, they are the origin for all religions of the world. Thus, it is our paramount duty to preserve Vedas forever!

This article is a snippet from the Book Thus Spake the Divine, is available online at www.giri.in and across Giri Trading Agency Private Limited, A chain of Speciality Stores dealing in all kinds of products needed in Indian Culture and Tradition.

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