Quotations on the Vedas
The need to foster them
“Every individual should take a pledge to nourish the Vedas on the right lines. The welfare of the nation and the prosperity of the world are dependent on the Vedas. Within the next ten or twenty years, even the few who possess the Vedic knowledge may not remain. Hence, there is an urgent need to take concerted measures to provide the resources and the encouragements for the propagation of Vedic studies. The Vedas are not to be used as a means of earning a livelihood. The Vedas are the means of establishing a link with the Divine. Those who have studied the Vedas must dedicate their lives to promote them.
Today all the ceremonies prescribed by the Vedas are being given up. Most people are engaged in meaningless superstitions. How many are adhering to the injunctions of the Vedas? People must be prepared to adhere to them even at the cost of their lives. The Vedas must be considered as their life itself. Only those who have this determination and conviction are competent to propagate the Vedas. Be fearless in propagating the Vedas.”
Sri Sathya Sai Baba – 28/9/1987
“My task is to open your eyes to the glory of the Vedas and to convince you that Vedic injunctions, when put into practice, will yield the results promised.”
Sri Sathya Sai Baba
Sathyam Shivam Sundaram (2), Chap. 3 – N. Kasturi
“Access to the Vedas is the greatest privilege this century may claim over all previous centuries.”
J. Robert Oppenheimer
“A regular study of the Vedas and the practice of their teachings confer all forms of wealth. The Vedas are a gift of God for the welfare of the entire humanity. The Vedas make no distinction on the basis of religion, caste or nationality. The Veda mantras can be chanted by one and all.
It is Swāmi’s wish that the Vedas spread to every country so that every human being irrespective of religion, caste or nationality learn and chant them.”
Sri Sathya Sai Baba – 08/2006
Ati Rudra Mahā Yajña
“Swāmi expects the people to foster Vedas and is showing the way by making thousands of students of the Sai Educational Institutions, right from the primary school, to learn Vedic chanting. There is actually no compulsion to learn the Vedas. All the students willingly come forward to learn. You should make the children learn the Vedas with enthusiasm, without compulsion. They should be made to realize the greatness of the Vedas by sweet persuasion.”
Sri Sathya Sai Baba – 18/10/1993
“Veda is like a kalpa vṛkṣha or a tree which gives whatever we desire. However, in order to protect it, we have to practise or constantly recite Veda. That is a kind of water which we have to give so that the tree may flourish. We also have to provide a proper fence around this tree and the discipline with which you conduct yourself will be the fence. Your sādhana is the fertilizer for the tree to grow. It is only when you have this adhyayana, discipline and sādhana that the Vedic tree will give you flowers of dharma and the fruit of prajñāna. Thus, the Veda can help us in fulfilling all our desires. Whatever activity we undertake, unless we take the necessary care and bestow the necessary attention, we cannot enjoy the result.”
Sri Sathya Sai Baba
Summer Showers in Brindavan 1974 (2), Chap. 27
“In the Śhukla Yajur Veda (XXVI – 2) it is urged to spread the beneficient words (vācham kalyāṇīm) of the Vedas to all people without distinction of caste, creed or sex, even to people of other religions. Now the time has come, as declared by Swāmi Vivekananda in 1901 (Complete Works III – pages 454-461, The Religion we are Born in) that the Vedas and the Gāyatrī Mantra must be propagated among all, as before, irrespective of caste, creed, sex or religion. Women should also perform sandhyā as in olden times. ‘This Veda is our only authority, and everyone has the right to it.’”
OM, GAYATRI and SANDHYA
by Swami Mukhyananda, 1989
Sri Ramakrishna Math
“In January, 1960, a great Sanskrit scholar from Sorbonne, France, Valestin by name, who was in India to translate the commentaries on the Vedas into French, arrived at Prasanthi Nilayam. One evening, during an interview with Baba, he suddenly caught Baba’s hands and pleaded ‘Baba! Vedic scholarship is fast declining in this Holy Land. You must revive it, You must foster it’. I was there, nearby. I felt that East and West were also there, awaiting with palpitating heart, the reply that Baba will vouchsafe. For the Vedas are for both East and West, for all mankind. And Baba did not disappoint mankind. He said, ‘I have come for that very purpose, for Vedic revival. It shall be done. I will do it. Wherever you are, you will know of it. The world will share that joy, that light’.”
Sri Sathya Sai Baba
Sathyam Shivam Sundaram (2) – N. Kasturi
“Our students are chanting the Vedas every day. Each Mantra is attributed to a particular form of divinity. It is necessary that one knows all the Mantras. If one wants to purify his thoughts and understand his true Self, he should take Vedas as the basis. Unable to understand this truth, many students are behaving like thieves when it comes to chanting the Vedic Mantras. One who does something wrong and feigns ignorance is a thief. Likewise, one who has the ability to chant the Vedas but does not do so full-throated and wholeheartedly can also be called a thief. All students can chant the Vedas, but some of them are not joining others in chanting. They are not making proper use of whatever they have learnt. They are keeping to themselves all that they have learnt. I am observing the students as they chant the Vedas. Having learnt the Mantras, they are expected to chant them. But, some of them are keeping silent. In a way, they are resorting to vidya chōratvam and daiva drōham (theft of knowledge and betrayal of God). In this manner, the educated are becoming traitors and betrayers. Only those who chant wholeheartedly whatever they have learnt are eligible for sākṣhātkāra (God-realisation). When the students chant the Mantras, ladies sitting on the other side also join them. They have every right to chant the Vedas. None can deny them their right. They feel inspired to chant the Vedas when they see our students chant. There are many small children sitting here. Who has taught them the Vedas? They hear attentively while the senior students chant the Mantras and learn them by heart. However, there are some educated persons who sit by the side of Veda chanting boys and yet remain tight-lipped. I am observing them. What is the use of sitting with Veda group if they do not make efforts to learn and chant them? They are bigger thieves. They listen to Vedic chants but do not participate in them. One should listen and also chant the mantras in order to experience divinity. […]
Everyone should necessarily learn the Vedas, contemplate on them and chant them wholeheartedly. There is no point in merely learning the Vedas if you do not chant them. There are some who chant the Mantras when they are here but forget them when they go outside. You may go anywhere but you should repeat the Mantras at least in your mind. […]
Students may commit mistakes without their knowledge. But, once they realise their mistake they should not repeat it. Whatever Mantras you hear today, you should be able to chant them tomorrow. When all people chant the mantras in unison and in perfect harmony, bramhan will manifest right in front of you.”
Sri Sathya Sai Baba – 19/10/2004
“Why do you eat food? Is it to preserve it in the stomach? No. The food partaken should be digested and the essence should be supplied to all parts of the body. In the same manner, you should understand and assimilate the Vedic knowledge and derive strength from it. It should be expressed in your thoughts, words and deeds. You should take part in the propagation of the Vedas and share your joy with others.”
Sri Sathya Sai Baba – 19/10/2004
“Embodiments of Love! Students!
Whatever you have learnt here, share it with others. It is not enough if you share it with others, you too should put your knowledge into practice and derive benefit therefrom. We prepare many delicious items at home and serve them to the guests. Is it not necessary that we should also partake of them? Likewise, we should digest the Vedic knowledge we have acquired and also share it with others. All types of knowledge have originated from the Vedas. That is why the Veda is extolled as sarva vijñāna sampatti (the treasure chest of knowledge). But unfortunately, we are not making proper use of such a treasure. Share your knowledge to the extent you have acquired. Never forget what you have learnt. With sincere effort, you will certainly be able to attain sākṣhātkāra. How did Markandeya attain sākṣhātkāra? He repeated the pañchākṣharī mantra forgetting himself. As a result, Lord Īśhvara appeared before him and showered His grace. Those of you who wish to have the vision of God should digest the Vedic wisdom you have acquired and share it with others.”
Sri Sathya Sai Baba – 19/10/2004
“Every human being must revere the Vedas. It is the very foundation of life. Every act of daily life has its roots in the Vedas. Whether everyone knows this or not, the Vedas pervade everything. […] Your hearts are filled with all kinds of feelings. How can you fill them with the nectar of the Vedas? Everyone must regard it as his foremost duty to work for the revival of the Vedas and live the Vedic way of life.”
Sri Sathya Sai Baba – 28/09/1987